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Tag: Zamfara

  • Troops kill 21 bandits, capture 17 in Zamfara, Katsina

    Troops of Operation Sharan Daji have between Jan. 22 and Jan. 28 neutralised 21 bandits, captured 17 and rescued 89 persons taken hostage by the bandits in Zamfara and Katsina States.

    Giving an update on the operation in a statement on Tuesday, Maj. Clement Abiade, the Acting Force Information Officer, Operation Sharan Daji, said 55 of the freed captives were held captives in Bukkuyum Local Government Area of Zamfara.

    Abiade said they had been debriefed and reunited with their families, adding that most of them are from communities in Zamfara.

    He also disclosed that two bandits’ informants, Musa Amadu and Auwalu Mutairu, were arrested at Danfumi village in Birnin Magaji and were currently assisting troops with intelligence.

    “It is significant to inform the general public that 11 civilians and one vigilante were killed by bandits during the period in focus.

    Read Also: Troops neutrilise four terrorists in Borno

    “It is also important to state that six persons were kidnapped at Asoula village in Tsafe Local Government Area and not in Birnin Magaji as reported by some media houses,” he said.

    The information officer said during the period under review, one single barrel gun, two locally made pistols and 20 cartridges of double barrel bullets were recovered from the bandits.

    He listed other recovered arms as 60 rounds of 7.62mm, special one AK-47 magazine containing 18 Rounds of 7.62mm special, two dane guns, four motorcycles and large quantity of Indian hemp and illicit drugs.

    “The operation is designed to identify and destroy bandits’ camps/enclaves,’’ he said.

  • Banditry: Zamfara calls for 3-day fasting

    The Zamfara Government has called on the people of the state to embark on three-day fasting and intensive prayers to seek God’s intervention against the activities of bandits, kidnappers and other crimes.

    The state’s Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Bello Dankande, made the call at a news conference on Tuesday in Gusau.

    He said “I am sure you all know the efforts the state government and the Federal Government are making to tackle the activities of criminal elements in the state.

    “We believe that the fasting and prayers will facilitate Allah’s intervention for both the safety and success of our security men and bring the ugly situation to an end.

    “These three days of fasting is voluntary to everybody because we are all either directly or indirectly affected by the situation.

    “We are also soliciting for the intensive reading of the complete Holy Qur’an by Islamic scholars and their students to invoke Allah’s help.”

    The commissioner said that the law against wood logging and illegal sale of petrol in the state were still in place, adding that violators would face the full wrath of the law.

    “The ban on wood logging and illegal sale of petrol had greatly frustrated the activities of bandits as the law had affected their food supply, fuel, among others.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the state government had in 2018 imposed a ban on wood logging and illegal sales of petrol in the state.

    “This followed reports that the bandits received food, illicit drugs, alcohol and other supplies through the wood loggers and those who engaged in illegal sale of petrol to the bandits.”

  • Court okays INEC’s rejection of Zamfara APC’s candidates

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has held the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) acted within its powers by refusing to accept list of candidates for the next general elections from the Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu said it was not the fault of INEC that the APC failed to conduct a valid primary within the period scheduled by the electoral body.

    Justice Onjukwu said INEC’s action was intended to curb impunity among political parties and politicians; ensure that rule of law is adhered to.

    The judgment was on a suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1279/2018, filed in the name of APC by some individuals, who said they emerged from a consensus arrangement adopted by the party in Zamfara State.

    Justice Ojukwu, who dismissed the case for being without merit, noted that evidence presented before the court by parties did not show that the APC conducted its primaries within INEC’s published schedule of activities, which required parties to conduct their primaries and submit list of candidates within August 18 and October 7, 2018

    The judge said the decision of the APC in Zamfara to select its candidates through a consensus option, breached the provision of the Electoral Act and the party’s constitution.

    Read Also:  Zamfara APC: Court okays INEC’s rejection of candidates

    Justice Ojukwu said, by the fact before the court, it could not be held that INEC acted ultra vires by rejecting Zamfara APC’s candidates’ list.

    The judge added that INEC’s decision was to deter impunity and ensure that the right thing was done and the provisions of the law complied with by political parties.

    She said: “The intendment of the law is that due process must be followed. The 1st defendant’s (INEC’s) action was to ensure that the party complies with rule of law.”

    The judge said it was obvious that, as at the close of nomination for the 2019 elections, according to INEC guideline, the party (APC) had no candidates, having failed to conduct legitimate primary.

    Earlier, Justice Ojukwu dismissed the preliminary objection brought against the suit and held that there was no similarity between the case before her court and the one pending before the High Court of Justice, Zamfara State, marked: ZMS/GS/52/2018 filed on December 6, 2018by Alhaji Babandida Abdullahi, Chairman, APC, Gusau Local Government and others against the APC and others.

    While Justice Ojukwu was delivering judgment in the case in Abuja, Justice Muhammad Bello Shinkafi of Court 3, High of Zamfara State in Gusau, also rendered judgment in the suit by Alhaji Abdullahi and held that the APC actually has candidates having conducted valid primaries between October 3 and 7, 2018.

    Justice Shinkafi proceeded to order INEC to accept the candidates produced by the primaries as APC candidates in Zamfara for all positions in the forthcoming general elections.

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    A certified-true-copy (CTC) of the judgment certificate signed by an Alhaji Lawali Sanda Kaura (Assitant Director), sighted by The Nation on Friday, indicated that the court granted all the prayers by the plaintiffs.

    It reads in part: “Now, on the strength of evidence adduced by the plaintiff, the evidence elicited from both DWS1 and 2 during cross-examination, as well as the documentary evidence tendered and admitted in evidence, I am satisfied that the plaintiffs have proved their case against the defendants.

    “Consequently therefore, the above issue for determination formulating is hereby. Answered in the affirmative and all the reliefs claimed by the plaintiffs are hereby granted.

    “An order declaring as lawful and valid the primary election conducted by the APC (herein plaintiffs’ party) under the supervision of the 3rd defendant (INEC) and security agents on the 3rd and 7th October 2018 for the purpose of producing candidates to vie for various offices, which produce the plaintiffs, under the platform of the 1st defendant.” The court also order INEC to “accept and accord due recognition to the list of the candidate that emerged as winners” in the primaries of the 3rd and 7th October 2018

    The court also ordered the 1st defendant (APC) to “recognise and accept the list of candidates that emerged as winners” in the primaries.

    The court further granted a perpetual order of injunction restraining the defendants and their agents “from taking any steps towards cancelling/rejecting the result of the primary election held on the 3rd and 7th of October 2018 and monitored by the 3rd defendant.”

    Lawyer to the plaintiff in the Zamfara case, Mahmud Magaji (SAN) said, with the judgment of January 25 given in his clients’ favour, INEC cannot afford not to accepts the list of candidates that emerged from the primaries that the court has said were valid.

  • Troops neutralise 58 bandits, rescue 78

    The Nigerian Army announced on Wednesday that no fewer than 58 bandits have been killed by troops in clearance operations within Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara axis, while 78 victims of kidnapping were rescued.

    It added that 18 camps of the bandits operating in different forests within the area were destroyed by troops of Operation Sharan Daji. Arms and ammunition were also recovered from them within the period of the operations.

    However, two soldiers and two members of vigilante group lost their lives during the encounter.

    A statement signed by the Acting Force Information Officer for Operation Sharan Daji, Major Clement Abiade, added that 8 soldiers and 6 vigilante members were wounded during the clearance operations.

    Major Abiade said: ” In line with the mandate of operation SHARAN DAJI, troops commenced clearance operations into bandits enclaves in Zamfara State and Katsina on 19 January 2019 and to last up till June 2019. The operation is being conducted simultaneously in collaboration with all security agencies and local vigilante to achieve synergy. The current offensive is designed to identify and destroy bandits’ camps/enclaves in the area of operation.

    “Already, the operation has recorded some successes. On 20 January 2019, troops came into contact with a large gang of bandits armed with sophisticated firearms and Rocket Propelled grenades at Dumburum and Gando forests leading to fierce gun battles which lasted several hours. The bandits were forced to abandon their camps due to superior firepower during these encounters.

    “The items recovered from the bandits include 5 Fabric National Rifles, 4 AK 47 Rifles, 10 locally made rifles, 1 locally fabricated pistol and 40 motorcycles.

    “The casualty figures on the bandits’ side were 58 bandits neutralized, while one was captured alive. Troops also destroyed 18 camps and rescued 75 kidnapped victims held in some of these camps. The freed captives who were mostly from local communities in Zamfara State were debriefed and reunited with their families.

    “Unfortunately, Operation SHARAN DAJI also suffered some casualties in these encounters. So far, two gallant soldiers and 2 members of the vigilante paid the supreme prize. A total of 8 soldiers and 6 vigilantes also sustained various degrees of gunshot injuries.

    Read Also: Troops neutralise Boko Haram terrorists in Yobe

    “Those who sustained injuries were immediately evacuated to Federal Medical Centre, Gusau for medical treatment, while those with life-threatening conditions were evacuated by air for specialist attention outside the theatre of operation. The families of the fallen heroes have been contacted accordingly, while the deceased members of the vigilante were laid to rest in Anka Cemetery according to Islamic rites.

    ” The Force Commander, Operation SHARAN DAJI, Maj Gen SO Olabanji commiserate with families of the fallen heroes and assures them that their sacrifices will not be in vain. He reaffirms the commitment of operation SHARAN DAJI to rid Zamfara State of all forms of banditry and criminality in line with its mandate.

    “Therefore, the general public is enjoined to cooperate with troops and furnish security agencies with useful and timely information about bandits’ activities within their domain.“

  • Troops neutralise activities of bandits, lost 2 soldiers

    Troops have neutralised activities of some bandits in Zamfara, in an operation to rid the state of criminal elements.

    The troops also captured one of the bandits alive.

    A statement by Maj. Clement Abiade, the Acting Force Information Officer of the ongoing Operation Sharan Daji, however, said two soldiers and two members of the vigilante were killed in the encounter.

    Abiade said eight other soldiers and six vigilantes sustained various degrees of gunshot injuries.

    According to him, troops also rescued 75 people taken captives by the bandits after destroying 18 of their camps in the state.

    Read Also: Troops neutralise Boko Haram terrorists in Yobe

    He said that the freed captives mostly from local communities in Zamfara, had been debriefed and reunited with their families.

    Abiade listed items recovered from the bandits to include five Fabric National Rifles, four AK Rifles, 10 locally made rifles, one locally fabricated pistol and 40 motorcycles.

    He said clearance operations of bandits’ enclaves in Zamfara and Katsina States which began on Jan. 20 would continue till June.

  • Osinbajo chairs NEC meeting

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday presided over the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The meeting which will deliberate on the minimum wage request, among other issues, started around 11.26am when Osinbajo arrived the Council chamber.

    After rendition of the National anthem, opening prayer was offered by Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong.

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    Among state governors in attendance included Lagos, Zamfara, Adamawa, Kebbi, Jigawa, Niger, Ekiti, Bauchi,

    Among the deputy governors in the hall included Nasarawa and Ogun.

    Also in attendance were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha, Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed.

    Others at the meeting included Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, FCT Minister, Mohammed Bello, Minister of Education Adamu Adamu, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefuele.

  • Borno, Zamfara, Katsina and their leitmotifs

    NO part of Nigeria is immune to the ongoing rampage of anarchists, but in the past few weeks, the stories about violent bandits and rebels relentlessly practicing their sorceries on Borno, Zamfara and Katsina States have become dizzying and astonishing. The governors themselves have reacted quaintly to the sorceries to the point of becoming news in their own right, with the Borno governor weeping, Zamfara governor expressing surrender, and Katsina governor sounding despondent. All in the past two, three weeks.

    Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State visited Aso Villa last Monday to confer with President Muhammadu Buhari on the insurgency convulsing his state, and insurgents putting soldiers to flight in a few notable battles publicised embarrassingly far beyond their strategic import. “Our hopes are very much alive and they are very high,” began the governor obliquely. “We came with some observation and 10 requests for urgent presidential intervention. These observations and requests are products of discussion in the aftermath of our extraordinary security meeting held one week ago. We didn’t rush to come after the meeting. We felt the need to travel to northern Borno, interact with displaced persons and the military so as to strengthen public confidence.” He warned of impending military and social disaster if the battle was not taken to the insurgents with extra vigour.

    Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State feels even more terribly beleaguered. Accused of indifference, or at worst, incompetence, over the rampant activities of bandits in his state, the governor has abandoned his complacency and defensiveness, and has since embraced every measure anyone could propose, sensible or otherwise. A few weeks ago, a group of academics, in desperation, suggested the proclamation of a state of emergency in Zamfara, perhaps believing the suggested panacea was so extreme that it was bound to be controversial. But not only did the public receive the suggestion well, despite the embedded constitutional flaws, even the governor who should be conversant with the provisions of the constitution simply abandoned all pretexts and whooped for emergency. He failed to differentiate between a state of emergency and emergency rule.

    Still reeling from the nefarious activities of the bandits that have made whole sections of the state unsafe to live in or travel through, the governor even went as far as suggesting that he would gladly relinquish office if that would bring peace to the state. He was perhaps reacting more to the allegations of incompetence levelled against him than the failure of governance or the slow and inadequate response of the security and law enforcement agencies. The government has deployed troops in the state hoping that their presence would stop the flow of blood. The bandits, going by the last reports available, do not appear to be impressed by the deployment.

    The case of Katsina, the president’s home state, is even more dire and symptomatic of the national malaise that has overtaken the country. The governor, Aminu Masari, was too burdened by the attacks to which his state has been subjected in the past few months that he wailed for the federal government to do something about the problem. Said he when he convened a state security council meeting on January 3, 2019: “…No one, not even myself, is safe…So, this is the situation and that is why we are here to find a way out, which is a must. There is no option because we are thinking of the survival of our people and state. The citizens are on a daily basis being harassed by bandits and kidnappers on rampage in the state. The Katsina Government organised this one-day joint security and stakeholders meeting to proffer solutions to the state’s current insecurity challenge. Our state is currently under serious siege by armed robbers, kidnappers and armed bandits who arrest rural people at will and demand ransom, which if not paid, results in the killing of their victims. The people of Katsina in the 34 local governments now sleep with one eye closed and the other opened. Our state is in a dangerous situation. Travellers are afraid of being stopped on the highway and arrested by kidnappers who demand ransom.”

    The leitmotifs ignored in all the dire reports are that the country’s present structure is simply unworkable, the people’s socio-economic conditions have deteriorated precipitously, and the security architecture is completely outdated. These situations call for radical but nuanced and intelligent responses. Instead, the federal government is preoccupied with military, strong-arm approach only. But this approach has proved essentially ineffective or at best partially successful. So far, too, there is no holistic approach to a problem that has become multifaceted, multidimensional and unresponsive to all the panaceas the government has thrown at it. It is urgent for the government to change tack. Except that is done, the situation may very well deteriorate to the point of uncontrollability, especially considering that no state is spared the insecurity tragedy unfolding over the country.

  • IPAC rejects call for emergency rule in Zamfara

    The Zamfara chapter of the Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) has opposed the call for the declaration of emergency rule in the state, describing the move as retrogressive.

    Speaking to reporters in an interview in Gusau yesterday, the IPAC State Chairman, Alhaji Sani Yusuf, said the call for the imposition of a state of emergency was unwarranted.

    Yusuf said such action would only cripple political and economic activities of the people, adding that proponents of the emergency rule were enemies of the state.

    “In fact, we want to put it on record that those calling for emergency rule have no interest of the state at heart.”

    The chairman said that the Federal Government should disregard the call as it will aggregate more hardship on the people.

    He suggested that instead of emergency rule, the Federal Government should evolve more strategies to end banditry activities in the state.

    He described those calling for emergency rule as self-centred and unconcerned about the political and economic development of the people in the state.

    “The political parties in the state are in support of the state and Federal Government collaboration in fighting bandits.”

    He urged the Federal Government to distance itself from the agitators of emergency rule and focus on the provision of more security measures to tackle the problem. 

  • 396 pre-election cases may stymie Vote 2019

    ABOUT 42 days to the general election, there are still a lot of pre-election matters before the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court with glaring implications for  the umpire (INEC), the parties and candidates. Many candidates in  Adamawa,  Zamfara, Rivers, Ogun,  Kwara, Imo and others do not know their fate. According to records obtained from INEC, there are 396 court actions arising from the primaries conducted by political parties. The figure is higher than 200 matters in court before the 2015 poll. A source in INEC said: “All the things we have criticized about general elections manifested during the primaries.”

    The big question is: Will the court be able to resolve all pre-election matters on or before February 16? Will candidates still win elective offices through the backdoor this time around?  Nigerians look forward to the Judiciary to save the electoral process and restore sanity.

  • Air Force neutralises bandits in Zamfara again

    The Nigerian Air Force said on Friday that it has destroyed another hideout of armed bandits in Zamfara state, killing some of the bandits during the attacks.

    Air Force Director of Information and Public Relations, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola said in a statement said the strikes on the bandits were carried out following credible intelligence reports confirming their presence in the area.

    Air Commodore Daramola said : “The Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation DIRAN MIKIYA has destroyed another armed bandits’ hideout and neutralized several of their fighters near Doumbourou Hill in Zamfara State.

    “The attack was executed yesterday, 2 January 2019, following human intelligence (HUMINT) reports, which were later confirmed by Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, indicating that a large number of bandits, armed with high calibre weapons, regularly assemble at a compound around the foot of the Hill before going out on operations.

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    ” Accordingly, the ATF scrambled 2 Nigerian Air Force (NAF) attack helicopters, supported by an ISR platform, to engage the bandits and destroy their compound. The helicopters strafed the target area in successive waves of attack, with the first wave causing some damage to the structures and neutralizing some of their fighters.

    “The second wave was sequenced to engage the armed bandits as they re-emerged out of their hiding places, thus inflicting further fatalities on them. Credible HUMINT sources later revealed that the leader of the group was amongst those killed during the attack.

    ” The ATF, will continue to work in close coordination with surface forces and other security agencies, to conduct reconnaissance and air interdiction missions with a view to restoring normalcy to the affected States in the Northwest”.