Katsina school attack: FG ‘has not learnt from Chibok, Dapchi incidents’

 

Plan International, a non-governmental organisation focused on girls’ rights, says the Nigerian government has not learnt from past experiences.

Making references to the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014, and a similar incident in Dapchi Secondary School in 2018, the organisation said government should have put in place adequate security to prevent the attack that occurred in Katsina over the weekend.

Gunmen had, on Friday, attacked Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina, with over 300 students still missing as of Sunday afternoon.

Hussaini Abdu, Plan International’s country director in Nigeria, said the government should have learnt from previous incidents and put in place security measures to ensure safety in schools.

“The abduction of students of Government Boys Science Secondary School in the Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State by unknown abductors in an unfortunate indication that the nation and government has not learnt from the unfortunate incidents of abduction of 276 girls from the Chibok Secondary School in Borno State in 2014 and another set of 110 girls at the Government Girls’ Science and Technical College. Dapchi, Yobe State in 2018,” he said.

“Following the two previous incidents and other occurrences of kidnap of students in boarding schools across the country, the Nigeria government by now should have put in place adequate security arrangements to ensure safety of children learning and kept in the care of schools and education authorities everywhere in the country, especially in such locations susceptible to attacks by non-state armed groups.”

According to Abdu, Nigeria is one of the first countries to endorse the Safe School Declaration on May 29, 2015, where governments promised to ensure protection and continuation of education in conflict situations.

He called for a headcount of the students to determine how many of them are missing, and urged governments at all levels to ensure the safe return of the missing students.

“It is time that the governments at both federal and states across the country prioritise ensuring protection of schools, and also build capacities of communities to protect schools as well as in early warning signals,” he said.

“It is unacceptable that students in our schools are still being abducted and the whole nation appears helpless.”

- THECABLE

333 Kankara schoolboys likely kidnapped, largest abduction ever

 

Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina revealed Sunday that 333 students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara are still missing or kidnapped.

This was after the audit of the students that he ordered on Saturday, following the attack by bandits.

Masari gave the figure when he received a Federal Government delegation led by the Minister of Defence, Gen. Bashir Salihi Magashi (retd.).

The delegation which also comprised Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Air Staff, and the Director-General, National Intelligence Agency, came on a sympathy visit, after Friday’s abduction of the students of the school.

“The children so far kidnapped cut across the state because the boarding school houses all children from all parts of the state and some even from outside the state.

“It has a population of 839 and so far we are yet to account for 333 students.

“We are still counting because more are coming out from the forest and we are calling those parents that have phone numbers to find out whether or not their children have gone back home.

“Based on the available record we have, we are still searching for 333 students.”

Masari said the bandits were yet to contact either the government or anybody on the abduction.

If the students were found to have been eventually captured, it will be the biggest kidnapping incident, since the Chibok schoolgirls were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014.

The schoolgirls captured were 276. Till date, 112 have not returned home.

On 19 February, 2018, Boko Haram came for 110 Dapchi schoolgirls in Yobe.

Five of the schoolgirls died on the same day of their kidnapping.

The others were released in March 2018, except the lone Christian girl Leah Sharibu.

She remains in captivity.

On Sunday, the leader of the Federal government delegation, Bashir Magashi, who is the defence minister, asked the armed forces, the police and other security agencies to move faster to ensure the speedy rescue of the students.

“Today we are here also to sympathise with you over the recent abduction of secondary school students which is a more or less ruthless exercise conducted to tamper with the education of the students,” he said.

“With the brief, we received from the sister security agencies in the state, this task will be very simple to accomplish.

“Within the next few hours, we will ensure that these people are back without any collateral damage to the people of Katsina State.

“All hands are on deck to ensure we accomplish our tasks within the armed forces and the police.”, he said.

- PM NEWS

How aid worker captured by Boko Haram ‘was killed’ two weeks after wedding

 

Emmanuel Peter, a humanitarian aid worker, who was abducted in the north-east region, has reportedly been killed.

The insurgents abducted him at Jakana along Damaturu-Maiduguri road in Yobe state, on Wednesday, and two days later, Peter’s death was announced on his Facebook page.

At 12:25am on Friday, Peter’s Facebook profile picture changed to an image with a black background. His cover photo also changed.

Screenshot of the change in his profile photo

Posted by Emmanuel Peter Birdling on Thursday, December 10, 2020

 

Some minutes later, an obituary was shared on his timeline. It’s unclear if the post was shared by Peter or one of his abductors.

“Hey fellows…am already dead..dnt work any me..jst worry any ur self’s..papa..sorry I can’t get d corps in other to bury..c u in d hereafter.bt am in hell.n j hope u guys wl come n mit me soon,” the post read.

Peter’s last update

Hey fellows…am already dead..dnt work any me..jst worry any ur self’s..papa..sorry I can’t get d corps in other to bury..c u in d hereafter.bt am in hell.n j hope u guys wl come n mit me soon.

 Posted by Emmanuel Peter Birdling on Thursday, December 10, 2020

The insurgents were said to have killed him after finding out that he worked with a humanitarian agency, though he reportedly denied his link with the agency.

His captors reportedly browsed through his iPad where they found adequate information on him.

They probably didn’t know that it would be a short journey

Two weeks before his reported death, Peter wedded his wife at Eyn state low-cost in Jimeta, Yola, capital of Adamawa state.

A flurry of congratulatory messages followed the wedding ceremony on November 28.

On Facebook, one Hannatu Ali Buba Thilza, wrote: “Let’s me drop it here, congratulations baby.  am happy for you.”

The wedding invite

If truly he has been killed, then Peter literally walked out when his journey was supposed to begin.

The north-east region has been plagued with insecurity crisis, with several individuals abducted and killed while government has repeatedly said it is on top of the situation.

- THECABLE

 

Katsina kidnap: Primate Ayodele warns of what God told him’ll happen if Buhari fails to sack Service Chiefs

 

Primate Elijah Ayodele, leader of INRI Evangelical spiritual church, has warned President Muhammadu Buhari over the issue of insecurity in the country.

Ayodele disclosed that God told him that there would be confusion and disorderliness in Nigeria if Buhari fails to sack his Service Chiefs by February.

The clergyman disclosed this in response to the abduction of students of Government Science Secondary School, GSS, in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Primate Ayodele in a statement he forwarded to DAILY POST, on Sunday, lamented that Buhari was running Nigeria like he has no direction.

He said: “Unfortunately, President Buhari is running the country like he has no direction, look at how they kidnapped students in his hometown yet he has refused to remove the service chiefs and replace them with people that can act.

“I want to Say what the Lord said, I have said it before, If Buhari doesn’t change the service chiefs before February, there will be disorderliness and confusion in the country.

“Actually, there are lot of confusion in his government now and there are lot of internal trouble” in both the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The popular cleric said the confusion would lead Nigeria to “unforeseen anarchy and total disorderliness because this insecurity will affect the rich and the poor.”

He further warned that the anarchy and disorderliness may lead to “another protest that will cause the country to shut down.’’

- DAILY POST

Many senior army officers contract COVID-19

 

Late Major-General General Olubunmi Irefin, who died last week of COVID-19 complications has turned out to be a super-spreader of the virus.

Reports said many senior officers ordered to go into quarantine have tested positive as well.

According to Channels TV, quoting unofficial military sources, no fewer than 18 generals have tested positive.

They were among the senior officers who had contact with Irefin, when he came to Abuja last week for the Chief of Army Staff Conference, and fell ill.

Military authorities are yet to confirm this, but the results are for officers who came from army formations outside Abuja to attend the conference.

The results for officers based in Abuja and the army headquarters have not been released.

Out of abundance of caution, Chief of army staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai last week cancelled the remaining session of the conference.

He also went into quarantine as he disinvited the officers, who he had invited to his son’s wedding last Friday.

From all indications, Nigeria is now in the middle of a second wave of CoVID-19, with rising infections, especially in Abuja, Lagos and Kaduna.

Irefin, until his death was the GOC of 6 Battalion based in Port Harcourt

- PM NEWS

Seun Kuti gives reason for assault, shooting at Ikeja

 

Seun Kuti, son of Nigerian legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, has reacted to allegations of assault and pulling out a gun at unarmed citizens in Ikeja, Lagos state.

There were reports on Saturday that Seun had threatened some persons on his street located at Allen Avenue, with gun and beat them up.

However, the singer while giving details of the incident in a video shared on his Instagram page, affirmed that there were gunshots on the street because one of the bouncers from a party threatened his life.

Narrating the incident , he said: “I don’t make new friends , I don’t go for events because I don’t vibe with the conversation and stay away from everything in my little lane but people keep testing and trying me.

“What happened yesterday, one woman came to invest in our street and built a hotel, they held a party and cars blocked the streets and the entrance of my house.

“Selfish people, they did not notify me and started a party at 9am with loud music, I tried to sleep by force with the noise but couldn’t and the party went on till 7pm.

“I decided to leave my house, time to leave I could not come out of my gate because cars from party goers blocked the entrance. I tried to get their attention and nobody answered for 20 minutes.

“One man that parked came to his car and was arguing with me so I slapped him, later as I was leaving another car blocked the street after it ran out of fuel, while waiting in my car one of the bouncers from the hotel came to meet me and threatened my life.

“He said he would come to the shrine and treat my f….k up that’s when the fight started, we beat them up with bare hands. There were gunshots because you cannot threaten me in my hood.

“If the government likes they should come and arrest me but no one should come to my house without arrest warrant from the court . Nobody can victimize me, its either you beat me and I will go down fighting.

“What if somebody was dying and wanted to move out of the house/street immediately? We can’t leave our homes because some people want to make money for themselves and have no regards for humans. If you cannot think communally and put fellow human beings into consideration when taking action then, you’ll bear the consequences.”

- DAILY POST

#EndSARS: Falana-led coalition sets up ‘citizen panel’ to hear petitions on human rights violation

 

The Alliance for Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), a coalition of 80 labour and civil society organisations (CSOs), has set up an “independent citizens’ panel” on human rights violation during the #EndSARS protest.

The group, led by Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, asked Nigerians to submit complaints of human rights violation witnessed before, during and after the #EndSARS protest in October.

In a statement on Sunday, Chino Obiagwu, senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and chairman of the ASCAB panel, said the call is not restricted to victims who already submitted to panels set up by the government.

Obiagwu said the “citizen tribunal” will enrich the investigations into the abuses said to have been perpetrated by the disbanded special anti-robbery squad (SARS).

“The Panel is to receive complaints from the general public of violations, before, during and after the #EndSARS protests across Nigeria,” ASCAB said.

“To this end, the panel hereby calls on the general public, especially families of those who lost their lives or who suffer one form of human rights violation or another.

“The complaint is expected to contain the names of the victim(s), date, time and place of violations, type of violation suffered, name of the perpetrator (if known), name of agency of the perpetrator and any action already taken in the matter.

“All interested victims, regardless of whether they have approached the official commissions of inquiry set up by the State Governments or not, can submit memos to the Citizens Tribunal.

“To this end, all victims that have submitted a petition to the official commissions of inquiry should indicate if they have, and specify which of the commissions they submitted their petitions to. This will enable us follow up and track petitions at the official commissions.

“Where it is not possible to have physical meetings with any victim and his or her family, the panel will arrange virtual meeting.”

- THECABLE

Buhari’s supporter who taunted ‘wailers’ asks president to resign — after brothers’ kidnap

 Four days after taunting “wailers” and declaring support for President Muhammadu Buhari, Usman Rabi’u, a social media user, has asked the president to resign.

On December 8, Rabi’u had tweeted that that he is supporting the president till the end of his tenure in 2023, throwing jabs at those he described as “wailers”.

“We are with Baba till 2023. Let wailers continue to wail,” he wrote.

A screenshot of the tweet which Rabi’u had deleted as of Sunday morning

Four days later, Rabi’u tweeted that two of his brothers were among the students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina state, who were abducted.

“Two of my brothers are among the abducted students,” he had tweeted.

Checks by TheCable also showed that the tweet had been brought down.

Gunmen had broken into the school on Friday, the same day that the president paid his first visit to Katsina, where he hails from, in 2020.

A security source had told TheCable that over 300 students were missing after the attack.

The gunmen had invaded the school, said to have a population of around 800 students, shooting into the air to scare away people in the area.

Buhari had described the attack as cowardly, pledging to continue supporting the police and military against bandits.

Reacting to a post asking if the president should resign based on the rising insecurity in the country, Rabi’u asked Buhari to step down as soon as possible.

One Mumin Oladipo had described Rabi’u’s case as a lesson, to which the president’s estrange supporter agreed.

“This is a lesson for those who continue to indulge Buhari because his failure has not affected them. The truth is if we don’t collectively hold Buhari accountable, it’s only a matter of time before we all become victims,” Oladipo tweeted.

And Rabiu responded: “This is true.”

Rabi’u also turned against Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, who tweeted that Buhari had asked security agencies to go after the abductors.

“President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday strongly condemned the bandits’ attack at the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara in Katsina State, charging the army and the police to go after the attackers to ensure that no student gets missing or harmed,” Shehu had tweeted.

But this time, Rabi’u responded: “Same story.”

- THECABLE

Institute decries cement price hike

 

The Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) raised the alarm on Sunday that the hike in cement prices from N2,600 for a 50kg bag to N3,500 would result in compromised quality in the construction industry.

It equally appealed to the Federal Government to adopt measures to avert the danger.

NIOB President, Mr Kunle Awobodu, said in a statement that even at N2,600 per 50kg bag of cement Nigerians had suffered from substandard construction while struggling at homeownership and that with the price increase, the situation would worsen.

“Whatever the underlying reasons are given for the hike in price, the NIOB is actuated by altruism to bring the attendant or unintended consequences to the limelight so that stakeholders can appreciate and respond to the emergency that the nation is confronted with.

“Even at previous prices, Nigerians were confronted with the challenge of owning their own homes and developing other infrastructure. Reports of ‘cutting corners’ due to compromised material inputs abound.

“Sand Crete blocks, concrete and mortar are products in which cement is necessary to produce. These products also play a major role in the cost and strength of structures built with them.

“While we are not sanctioning ‘cutting corners,’ that is, compromise on standard, the present price increase will only exacerbate an already volatile and precarious situation,’’ he said.

Awobodu called on the Federal Government to tackle infrastructure deficiency to reduce the cost of production of goods and services and at the same time regulate cement prices.

“The astronomical rise in the price of cement and the low purchasing power of Nigerians promote temptations for quality compromise in construction work.

“The government should step in quickly and save the nation from imminent danger of substandard building construction,’’ he said.

The NIOB president noted that Nigeria was blessed with huge human capital resources and its population could be a strength or a liability, depending on how resources were harnessed.

He said Nigeria’s high population offered a large market for investors and manufacturers and should be a reason to crash cement prices because of the law of large numbers in demand and supply.

Awobodu added that the hike in cement price would increase the need for more surveillance of the construction processes, adding that the chain reaction would impact on the nation’s economy and the construction industry negatively.

“Construction contracts in a regime of skyrocketing and unstable prices will witness many fluctuation claims with the potential for disputes and project abandonment.

“A cycle of project failures may start when prices are beyond the reach of clients and developers,’’ he stressed.

He argued that the hike in cement prices was not justifiable because nearly all the materials needed for its production were available locally.

“We acknowledge that cement manufacturers operate in the Nigerian economy. Nigerians who use cement products also are in the same setting where macroeconomic variables of interest rate, exchange rate and inflation have diminished purchasing power.

“The onus, therefore, lies on the government to urgently address these macroeconomic issues to favour the overall economy and, especially the construction industry that has the potential to stimulate growth.

“Cement manufacturers too should take advantage of the population to crash costs while the government should further address transportation and energy concerns.

“If these price increases and other macroeconomic variables are not addressed, the vision of housing many homeless Nigerians and the nation’s infrastructural revival will remain a mirage, “ he stressed.

- PM NEWS

Cech set to come out of retirement, start for Chelsea against Tottenham

 Petr Cech is set to make a sensational return for Chelsea, when he start for the development squad against Tottenham Hotspur in a Premier League 2 tie on Monday, according to The Athletic.

Cech, who is currently the Blues’ technical and performance director, has not played in a competitive game since the 2019 Europa League final.

But he has been training with Frank Lampard’s first team, after he was registered in their Premier League 25-man squad in October.

Lucas Bergstrom, the side’s regular goalkeeper, played for the U-18 side on Saturday and the club does not want him playing two games in three days.

Croatian goalkeeper, Karlo Ziger, is usually the next choice, but he is currently part of the first-team bubble and they would rather he remain there than go through the hassle of Coronavirus testing before re-joining the first team.

Whilst Cech is also part of the bubble, Zigar is rated higher up the ranks than the Czech.

Whilst it is unclear as to why Sami Tlemcani, another youth prospect, is seemingly unable to step in, the club view the experience for Cech as crucial if he is then needed to step in for the first-team some point soon.

- DAILY POST

Mob storms Lagos police station over three-day-old baby ‘sold to a soldier’

 

Officers attached to Onireke police station, Lagos state, on Friday, prevented a mob from attacking two ladies arrested for allegedly selling a three-day-old baby to a soldier.

The women, said to have come from Onireke market, Ojo, Lagos state, stormed the police station, chanting war songs against the two suspects.

Speaking with NAN, one of the women leaders identified as Mama Dada, alleged that the mother of the three-day-old baby had been encouraged by her elder sister whom she was staying with, to sell the baby as no one had claimed responsibility for fathering the child.

Mama Dada claimed that the elder sister sold the baby to a female soldier for N200,000, before the mother regained consciousness after childbirth.

“The sister had been telling the mother of the baby that since they could not cater to the needs of the baby, they’d sell her. And she went ahead to sell the baby to a female soldier at the Ojo army barracks opposite the market,” she said.

“The sister, who accompanied the expectant mother to the hospital where she was delivered of the baby, took the child from the nurses on duty before the mother regained consciousness from childbirth and sold to the solider for N200,000.”

Beatrice Uzokwe, another trader who was at the station, said the child’s mother had raised the alarm over the issue on December 9, 2020, adding that the police had also arrested the elder sister in connection with the incident.

The police, however, said a statement would be issued on the matter after investigation.

- THECABLE

Kankara abduction: Protest rocks Katsina

 

There was a protest staged in Kastina State on Sunday was over the abduction of schoolboys from the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State.

The protesters demanded the prompt rescue of students abducted by bandits on Friday night.

According to reports, the protest was led by a woman identified as one of the mothers of the abducted students.

The protesters went around the school’s premises and some parts of the town carrying placards conveying various messages, among which are ‘Government must speak out’, ‘We want our children back’ and ‘We want security in Kankara’.

The protesters also chanted songs seeking the rescue of the abducted students.

The Punch reports that the Coalition of Northern Groups had threatened to mobilise students and youths to go on protest in Katsina state if the abducted students were not rescued on time.

The chairman of the North-West zone of the group, Jamiu Aliyu while addressing a press conference in Katsina said, “We condemn in totality this barbaric act and call for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the culprits, we equally stress the inability of the government to protect those young, innocent, vibrant students from this horrible attack as uncalled for.

“Failure of the government to rescue the missing students within the shortest period of time, CNG will not hesitate to mobilize hundreds of thousands on the streets of Katsina state for a continuous protest, until the students are fully rescued, even if it’s going to cost our lives.”

- PM NEWS

Nnamdi Kanu launches Eastern Security Network

 

Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has launched the Eastern Security Network, ESN.

Kanu explained that the ESN was launched to protect the Southeast from marauding Fulani herdsmen and other criminal elements.

The IPOB leader also disclosed that ESN was not different from Amotekun in the Southwest and Miyetti Allah in the North.

Kanu’s launch of ESN was disclosed in a statement signed by IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful.

He warned armed robbers, kidnappers, to vacate the Southeast or be prepared “for the worst.”

Kanu vowed that the new security outfit will adequately defend the Southeast.

He also disclosed that mobile numbers would be released so people can call whenever there is any case of criminality in the region.

Kanu lamented that terrorists have converted forest in the Southeast into slaughter grounds and raping fields.

The statement reads partly: “We the global family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) under the command and leadership of our great leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, wish to announce with delight, that IPOB has floated a special security network to guard and protect the whole of Biafraland from Fulani herdsmen terrorists and other criminal groups.

“The sole aim of this newly formed Security outfit known as Eastern Security Network (ESN), is to halt every criminal activity and terrorists attack in Biafraland.

“This outfit which is a vigilante group like the Amotekun in the South West and the Miyetti Allah security outfit will ensure the safety of our forests and farm lands which terrorists have converted into slaughter grounds and raping fields.”

- DAILY POST