The Nation Newspaper

Tag: residents

  • Residents flee Maiduguri after killings

    Residents flee Maiduguri after killings

    Fear is gripping Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri with many men fleeing after the alleged execution style killings of around 40 young men, mostly teenagers, who residents say were rounded up and shot.

    “All male residents have left the neighbourhood … Those that remain are women, children and elderly men,” said resident Fatima Mustapha.

    The city is the stronghold of an insurgency by Boko Haram Islamists, blamed for the death of hundreds of people in northern and central Nigeria since 2009.

    “The neighbourhood has been under siege since yesterday (Friday) with soldiers taking over the entire area,” said Mustapha, a resident of the Gwange area where a retired army general, Mohammed Shuwa, was shot dead on Friday.

    She said the men had fled fearing a heavy handed military response to the murder of the general who was buried yesterday.

    A military source on Friday declined to comment on weekend killings, saying only that if such shootings had taken place, they would have been “unjustified”.

    The killings came on the same day that Amnesty International accused Nigerian security forces of massive rights violations, including summary executions, in its campaign to crush the Islamists.

    Residents said troops conducting raids in areas of Maiduguri on Thursday separated males in their teens and twenties from older men and shot them.

    In the Kalari neighbourhood they told the young men “to lie face down on the ground,” then asked the rest to look away, “one resident said.

    All we heard were gunshots. They shot them on the spot,” said the elderly religious leader, who did not want to be named, adding that the troops did the same in three other neighbourhoods.

    Most Maiduguri residents were on yesterday shut up at home.

    Residents spoke of a heavy military presence in many areas of the city.

    Boko Haram’s insurgency in northern and central Nigeria and the state’s military response are believed to have left more than 2800 people dead

     

  • Zuba residents cry out over fallen poles

    Zuba residents cry out over fallen poles

    Residents of Zuba in Gwagwalada area council of Abuja have cried out to the authorities and management of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to do something about the persistent danger posed by fallen electric poles in the area.

    They accused the authorities of toying with their welfare by not being proactive in tackling the danger that the fallen electric pole could pose to their lives.

    The latest of such incidents, it was gathered, happened at the weekend when two high-tension electric poles fell along Zuba-Madalla Old Road after a heavy rainfall.

    Sources told Abuja Review that though no one was electrocuted, residents were shocked that the relevant agencies have failed to either pull up the poles or de-activate the cables five days after the incident.

    One of the residents, Ibrahim Dogo, an electrician said: “We were just here when the poles fell as a result of the heavy rain. Immediately, I called the PHCN staff. The man came and after he had inspected the damage, the officials cut off the light but since last weekend, they have not done anything to improve the situation. Thank God there was no light. If there are electric currents in the cables, it would have killed a woman plaiting the hair of a kid because these wires have more than 30,000 voltage capacity.”

    He urged PHCN to come to their aid by removing the fallen high tension wires and poles before an irreversible harm is caused to the residents.

    Another resident, Mrs. Anulika Ezeukwu disclosed that the incident occurred because of the weak poles which have been there for a long time. She added that it posed great danger among the people living around the area and that those in authorities at PHCN should come to their aid.

    We were just here when the poles fell as a result of the heavy rain. Immediately, I called the PHCN staff. The man came and after he had inspected the damage, the officials cut off the light but since last weekend, they have not done anything to improve the situation

     

  • Residents warned against building on green areas

    Residents warned against building on green areas

    Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been warned against building on designated green areas, flood plains and disaster-prone areas to avert the damaging effects of global warming.

    The Minister of State for the FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, gave the warning in Abuja at the launch of 2012 FCT Tree planting campaign in Ushafa, Bwari Area council. The theme was: Planting, a solution of global warming. She stressed the need for aggressive sensitisation on tree planting as the only natural solution to the menace of global warming.

    In maintaining ecological balance, Akinjide noted that the FCT Agric and Rural Development Secretariat in July this year freely distributed assorted seedlings of different species to the Young Forester Club in 20 schools and colleges which were planted in schools as part of measures to raise the FCT vegetation cover.

    In ensuring a secure and safe environment in the city, the minister said that the administration inaugurated a committee on the September 13 this year to check the menace of deforestation in the federal capital

    “Tree planting is a continuous and daily exercise if we are to make any meaningful impact in curbing the menace of environmental degradation. I urged all FCT residents and visitors to imbibe the culture of planting trees especially around their homes”, Akinjide urged

    In her welcome address, the Secretary Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs Olvadi Bema Madayi, said that in a bid to sustain tree planting programme in FCT, the forestry Unit has established three forest nurseries in Bako, Kwali Area Council, Karshi in Municipal Area Council and Bwari Area Council of the FCT.

    The secretary added that the assorted seedlings raised in these nurseries are distributed free to FCT residents, religious organisations and various non-governmental organisations.

    “I enjoin everyone of us to imbibe the healthy habit of planting, at least five trees whenever we remove one, the habit will not only beautify our environment but will save the environment from the evil of deforestation,” Madayi added.

     

  • Agency alerts Lokoja residents to presence of killer pythons

    The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has alerted residents of Lokoja in Kogi to the presence of big pythons in communities along the bank of the River Niger.

    In a newsletter yesterday in Lokoja, the state capital, the agency said large pythons and other dangerous reptiles had been washed off the bank of the river, following the recent floods in the state.

    It said: “In fact, large pythons have already been washed off the banks of River Niger following the flooding.”

    NIWA said its warning was based on what environmentalists and marine experts said.

    It warned flood victims to be careful in their attempt to recover their homes and personal effects.

    NIWA attached a picture of one large python, killed at the bank of the river by some of its officials.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NIWA’s warning came at a time the floods were receding and people were returning to their submerged homes to recover their property.

    It was, however, learnt that some of the victims were apprehensive that pythons and other dangerous reptiles might have found a new abode in their homes.

    In Kpat, Adankolo, Gadumo, Kabawa and other affected areas, some residents confirmed the influx of pythons, crocodiles, snakes and other reptiles in the communities.

    In the newsletter,NIWA also confirmed that it provided seven boats, jackets and other materials that were deployed for the rescue of trapped flood victims at Ibaji Local Government Area and other parts of the state.

    The newsletter said NIWA’s Managing Director Alhaji Aminu Yar ‘dua joined the rescue team, which comprised the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA), Red Cross, Kogi State Emergency Management Agency (KOSEMA) and officials of the Kogi State Ministry of Environment, to rescue flood victims at Ibaji.