The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Yobe

  • Ten killed, 31 injured in Yobe suicide attack

     

    Ten people have been confirmed dead and 31 injured in a suicide attack by a female suicide bomber in Yobe State on Sunday.

    The attack took place at the Damaturu Central Motor park near the A division police Station that was on January 9th burnt down by the Boko Haram insurgents.

    The State Police Public Relation Officer Toyin Gbadegesin said the bomber made several failed attempts to bomb the military outfit inside the park before she boarded a half-loaded Sharon car and blew herself off killing 10 people at the spot.

    “At about 12.10 hr Hijab wearing female suicide bomber came into the park and went to the security vehicle there and she was turned away after suspecting her movement. She then went to a commercial Sharon vehicle in the car that was half loaded and the bomb exploded

    “In the blast 10 people died, 31 are critically injured and are lying at the General Sani Abatcha hospital in Damaturu. We have condoned off the area and investigation is currently ongoing,” Gbadegesin stated.

     

  • Many feared dead in Yobe suicide attack

    Many people are feared dead in Potiskum, Yobe State on Sunday following a suicide attack on supporters of candidates for the House of Representatives election.
    The supporters were gathered at the candidates house when the suicide bomber sneaked among them and triggered off his explosive ridden body.
    Hospital sources said six persons were confirmed dead. An eye witness informed that eight people died on the spot.

  • Boko Haram frees over 200 hostages in Yobe

    Over 200 Boko Haram hostages, mostly women and children, were released in Yobe State on Friday night, security sources have said.

    The release, it was learnt, took place at Katarko in Gujba Local Government Area, where several residents were abducted and others maimed.

    Katarko town is 22 kilometres away from Damaturu, the state capital.

    A resident of Katarko, who spoke in confidence, told our correspondent on phone that the insurgents released the hostages in two batches.

    The source said: “It is true that the incident happened. Some of our people have seen their relatives who were captured. From the information I got, the insurgents only released women and small children. But they killed youths in their captivity and either dumped them in the some wells or by the roadsides. They freed 135 people in the first batch and another 70 in the second batch.”

    Another resident, who was reunited with his hitherto abducted family and preferred not to be named, said the insurgents called them to pick their relations at Woron Yinwa village.

    The resident said: “They were so lucky to get a lorry that conveyed them to Gazargana village, where we picked them through the aid of some military personnel. The military kept them in a camp and pleaded with us to leave them there for security reason.

    “I received four of my five family members abducted. The other one is among the 29 people who are yet to be released by the insurgents.”

    One of the captives, a woman who simply identified herself as Kaltume, said the insurgents gathered the captives and asked them to form two groups.

  • Gana: Jonathan ’ll campaign in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa

    Gana: Jonathan ’ll campaign in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa

    •‘N21b donation for party secretariat, others’

    THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will take President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election campaign to Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and other states in the Northeast ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgents.

    Chairman of the PDP fundraising dinner and former Information Minister, Prof. Jerry Gana, stated this in Abuja yesterday.

    Gana is also the director, Contact and Mobilisation of the President’s campaign organisation.

    Towns and villages in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states are under Boko Haram’s attacks.

    A number of the towns and villages have been seized by the sect members, with hundreds of innocent citizens killed, maimed and abducted.

    Gana said: “As the director, Contact and Mobilisation, yes, we are going to go to the Northeast. The campaign organisation is going to be inaugurated today (yesterday) and because we are organised, the programme is ready.

    “Northeast is in our programme and in fact, we are going to campaign in Maiduguri, Yobe and everywhere else. And by the grace of God, we shall come back.”

    On the chances of the PDP in next month’s elections, Prof. Gana said the electorate will go for capacity and experience.

    His words: “People will go for experience and capacity and not those that will be experimenting with the new house, because we don’t know whether the new house will last after the election.

    “People, who want to be stable, build on solid rock, which is the PDP. The other one is the sand; and when you build on sand, it may scatter. Please advise Nigerians to vote for the party that is on the rock.

    “This is a critical year for Nigeria, but it will all go well. There won’t be violence; the elections will be free and fair. The winner will be clear and Nigeria will not break up. Anyone who says Nigeria will be divided will be disappointed, because Nigerians have become very mature politicians and democrats.”

    Gana also said the N21 billion donated by individuals and corporate bodies towards the president’s re-election campaign at a fundraiser in December would be used to complete the PDP national secretariat building under construction and other party projects.

    He spoke at a news conference at the construction site of the party’s permanent secretariat building, located at the Central Area of the Federal Capital Territory.

    According to him, N10.5 billion would be used to complete the building while the remaining N10.5 billion would be expended on capacity building for party officials at various levels.

    He added that party projects in the 36 states of the federation would also be financed with part of the money.

    The party was forced to make a detour, apparently as a result of public outrage that greeted the donations, in which the amounts donated by individuals and corporate bodies exceeded what the Electoral Act stipulated.

    Defending the purpose for raising the N21 billion donation, Prof. Gana said:  “The administration of the party resolved that we must complete this project, so that we can move here.

    “So, part of the preparations for this year’s campaign is for us to raise funds and I had the honour of leading a very distinguished team of Nigerians to prepare for the fundraising.

    “We raised about N21 billion on that day. And the purpose of this press conference is to say that right from the start, we were raising money for the PDP and the project of the party.

    “The documents and letters said so, the speeches confirmed it. During the day of the fund-raising, in my own speech and the speech of the vice president – who happens to be an architect – there was a specific focus on this building; that this is one project we want to complete.

    “The vice president, being an architect, gave graphic details of where we were on this project and how we desired to go ahead. Therefore, the central aim of the fund-raising was to empower the party to complete this building and other projects.

    “The second is of course to empower the party to campaign for its candidates. Not for the President alone, but for others. The presidential candidate has the right and he is going to use that right to raise fund for his campaign quietly.

    “So, we want to make it clear that the money raised was for the PDP and a substantial part of it will be for the completion of this building.

    “As already noted, we need over N10 billion to complete it and so, even if we raise and we hope that we are going to raise more, half of the money is already going to be for the building and other projects.

  • Gaidam visits Yobe refugees in Niger

    Gaidam visits Yobe refugees in Niger

    It was a bold step across the international border, but it was one worth taking.  members of the Boko Haram sect have since unleashed such terror on the Northeast, killing so many, injuring many more, but also displacing a large chunk of survivors. Many of such displaced people fled to Cameroon, some to Niger Republic, among other places.

    The trip of Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Gaidam to Niger to comfort the refugees there helped to dull the pain of displacement and horror of the insurgency.

    The governor also visited his hometown Gaidam, headquarters of Gaidam Local Government Area,  which was attacked by the Islamists, bringing succour to the residents.

    He has set up a committee to provide immediate relief and support for the people, whose town is following the attack more than a week ago.

    The governor inspected the damage to public and private property caused by the attackers.

    The Nation reports that the Gaidam Market, one of the largest in the northeast, and a local government secretariat, were completely burnt down by suspected Boko Haram attackers. The Divisional Police Office, military camp as well as several houses, shops and vehicles belonging to residents were also burnt down.

    Speaking on the ruins of the burnt down Gaidam Market, Governor Gaidam sent his condolences to the families of those killed in the attack, describing the attack as “heinous, evil and barbaric”.

    As part of measures to ameliorate the suffering of the displaced population, Gaidam directed the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to provide foodstuff for the people of the town within three to four days. He also ordered that a committee comprising SEMA officials, two State Assembly members and two commissioners from the Gaidam area, chairman of the Gaidam Market Association and other elders be formed immediately to assess the level of damage with a view to providing a report which the government will use to assist victims.

    He said: “SEMA should bring in officials immediately and, along with members of the committee I just formed, they should come and start work immediately. They should compile a comprehensive report on losses incurred so that the State Government can provide support to those affected”. Gaidam said.

    The governor also directed the Gaidam local government chairman to address immediately the complaint of lack of water in the town that some residents have made to him and also directed the State’s health commissioner to deploy drugs and additional health workers to the town to attend to injured victims.

    Governor Gaidam visited Maine Soroa in Niger Republic where more than 4,000 Gaidam, Kanamma and Yunusari residents had fled to and was conducted round by the Prefect (Governor) of Diffa region, Alhaji Yakuba Usman who said over 4000 people were offered shelter in the area with 1,385 camped and fed by Niger Government while 3000 refugees live with friends and relatives in Maine Soroa town.

    Governor Gaidam while addressing the victims described what happened as “unfortunate and a test from God Almighty,” urging them to take heart and pray to God for the return of peace in Yobe and the country in general. He promised the refugees that the State Government will extend support to them even as he urges them to return home.

    “I have been assured by military authorities that they are deploying additional soldiers and all the needed military hardware to Gaidam area within the next few days. In fact some of the soldiers have already started arriving. By the Grace of God and with your prayers, we will not see a recurrence of the abominable thing we had seen in Gaidam. I urge you to return to your homes. We will remain with you and support you,” Gaidam told them.

    Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam had earlier in his visit inspected the Military base of the area, the Divisional police station, the Local Government Secretariat and the Geidam market as well as damage to public and private property burnt by the insurgents assures them of every support.

    Some of the displaced persons expressed regrets that security forces during the evasion of the town run away as the insurgents continue to  rain terror on them unabated and call for timely government’s intervention to enable them return to their homes.

     

  • Explosion in Yobe football field

    A bomb buried in a football field has killed a sugarcane hawker in Potiskum, Yobe, an eyewitness has said.

    Some Potiskum residents said an explosive device apparently targeted at footballers at one Arikime primary school playing ground was prematurely triggered off by an unsuspecting sugarcane hawker at about 6:30pm on Sunday.

    Eyewitnesses said the victim, who was returning home after a hard day’s sales mistakenly stepped on the bomb which went off, killing him.

    A resident explained that the intention of the bombers was definitely to kill early morning football players who normally come out in large numbers to the busy Arikime playing ground for early exercise.

    “This innocent wheelbarrow pusher runs into the embedded explosion leading to his death and I can assure you that the death toll this morning would have been much if not for the early trigger which claimed just one life,” Dahiru Isa informed.

  • Strong harmattan weather hits Borno, Yobe

    Strong harmattan weather hits Borno, Yobe

    Strong harmattan wind has covered parts of Borno and Yobe States.
    Residents of Maiduguri and Damaturu, the capital cities of the states and some other towns and villages woke up on Saturday to the sudden harsh weather.
    Though the cold was not as scourging as the wind, motorists are having a hard time on the high ways with the ensuing poor visibility by the weather
    Garba Iliya, a commercial driver travelling to Damaturu from Maiduguri told our correspondent that drivers have to be more vigilant on the highway to prevent accidents due the bad weather.
    “We have to pay extra attention on the wheels so that we don’t cause unnecessary accidents,” Iliya stated.
    Our correspondent noticed that most vehicles were driving with their headlights on to avoid any head-on collision.

  • Party youths: Bulama is killing Yobe PDP

    Party youths: Bulama is killing Yobe PDP

    Some youths of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Yobe State have expressed concern over the manner in which the leader of the party in the  state, Dr. Abdul Bulama, is handling the party.

    According to the youths, the fortunes of the party will be worse in next year’s election, compared to 2011, if Dr. Bulama, who is also the Minister of Science and Technology, does not embrace the principles of opennes and transparency like the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Muazu. Such disposition, they added, will help to bring the party back on track before the 2015 general elections.

    One of the concerned youth, Abubakar Adamu, told reporters in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital that Dr. Bulama’s attitude is making the ruling APC in the state to garner more support at the expense of the PDP, whose fortunes have continued to diminish.

    “I think President Jonathan needs to know that the PDP in Yobe State has ran into crisis again. We felt that our current minister who is the leader of the party in the state will carry everybody along, considering the several steps taken by our National Chairman Adamu Mauzu to salvage the party in the state. Unfortunately, Dr. Bulama is not a politician and he is not ready to learn from people on ground.

    “We want the minister to realize that the party is very important to us and we are committed to working for its success come 2015, but Dr. Bulama has so far failed to provide the required leadership,” Adamu noted.

    The Nation’s investigations reveal that the PDP has three factions in Yobe. Two of the factions are loyal to Adamu Waziri and Yerima Nagama, while the third group is made up of neutral persons interested in seeing sanity in the leadership of the party before next year’s general elections.

    Spokesman to the state party leader, Hassan Ahmed has however refuted the accusations levelled against his principal, saying Dr. Bulama is working very hard to deliver the state for the party.

  • Photos: Damaturu after the attack

    Photos: Damaturu after the attack

  • Normalcy returns to Damaturu amidst panic

    Normalcy returns to Damaturu amidst panic

    …mass exodus hit Damturu

    Normalcy is gradually returning to Damaturu, the Yobe  state capital after the 24 hours curfew imposed  on the town following the Monday attack was relaxed by 11 hrs.

    But panic and fear still rent the air with all kinds of rumors of another impending attack.

    Many residents are also leaving town with their families either to their villages or other safe cities in the country.

    Some travelers were sighted on the Potiskum-Kano road, while other routes, apart from Gujba road, which leads to the stronghold of the insurgents have remained busy with vehicular and human movement.

    The three major motor parts in Damaturu have also remained busy with travelers heading to different locations where our correspondent visited.

    Residents who are almost running out of foodstuffs in their homes trooped out to the markets to make purchases and top-up their food stocks before the curfew will come in force  in the evening.

    Some of the residents who spoke with our correspondent expressed shock over the level of attack on the town but however praised the bravely of the Nigerian soldiers for containing the fire of the insurgents whom according to them were successfully repelled.

    Shaibu Musa a civil servant said that he was pleased that the soldiers stayed to fight instead of stories from the other parts of the country where soldiers reportedly run for their lives in the wake of attacks.

    “I am with what I saw. Contrary from what we have been hearing from other places that soldiers usually run away from this kind of attacks, the soldiers here were brave. They stood their grounds and fought very well to repel the insurgents. The jet that came from to help them did a very nice job. We salute the soldiers for keeping Damaturu for us,” Musa stated.