SUPER EAGLES COACH JOSE PESEIRO ARRIVES UYO TODAY FOR AKWA UTD/PLATEAU UTD CLASH

-TO INSPECT NEST OF CHAMPIONS SUNDAY

MFON PATRICK

Super Eagles head Coach Jose Peseiro will arrive Uyo today to watch Nigeria Professional Football League match between reigning Champions Akwa United and visiting Plateau United slated for Four O'clock in the afternoon at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.

Coach Peseiro who took charge of Super Eagles in May will be accompanied by his assistant Acacio Dos Santos and Super Eagles Head of Administration Enebi Achor.

The Portuguese tactician who led the senior national team to a 0-10 victory over Sao Tome and Principe will be the special guest of honour on match-day 35 when 8th placed Akwa United will square up against 2nd placed Plateau United.

Coach Peseiro has been scheduled to have a technical session with Coach Ayodeji Ayeni of Akwa United and the head Coach of Plateau United Fidelis Ilechukwu after the crucial game.

With Godswill Akpabio International Stadium selected by Confederation of African Football CAF as one of the two venues suitable to host international games in Nigeria, coach Peseiro will on Sunday morning be conducted round facilities at the stadium by a member of the NFF technical committee Elder Paul Bassey ahead of the 2023 AFCON qualifier against Guinea-Bissau in September.

At least eight people have been killed and dozens greater injured in a crush out of doors an Africa Cup of Nations soccer in shape in Cameroon.

Videos showed crowds of screaming football lovers being overwhelmed at the access gates to the Paul Biya stadium in the capital Yaounde.

Witnesses described chaotic scenes outdoor the floor as lots of fans struggled to get get entry to.

Of the 38 individuals who were injured, seven are in a severe circumstance.

One infant is the various lifeless, in keeping with officials quoted by using the AFP news business enterprise.

The stadium has a ability of 60,000, however due to Covid regulations it become now not supposed to be greater than 80% complete for the game on Monday.

Match officers have been quoted as saying that a few 50,000 humans have been looking to attend.

Danish journalist Buster Emil Kirchner informed the BBC he saw "plenty of chaos" by means of the stadium's gates as enthusiasts clamoured to go into the ground.

It become stressful - people strolling, humans climbing fences, human beings breaking thru the barricades," he said, adding he noticed many humans without tickets trying to "pressure themselves in".

Journalist Leocadia Bongben advised the BBC's Newsday programme that she noticed commotion coming from one of the fan zone regions out of doors the stadium.

People started out shouting. A minute after that an ambulance came to the stadium, however when we got to the area the police might not permit us to get near where the stampede changed into," she said.

It's in reality quite a sad scenario that people cross to observe a sport and they come to be loss of life there."

Nick Cavell, a manufacturer for BBC Africa, became on the match and stated information of the crush did not seem to filter thru to the crowd until there were reviews on social media.

Discarded shoes and different debris turned into strewn around the doorway of the stadium, he said.

Nurse Olinga Prudence instructed the Associated Press that a number of the injured had been in a "desperate circumstance".

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) stated in a announcement that it was investigating the state of affairs.

The closing sixteen suit between Cameroon and Comoros befell notwithstanding the incident and ended with a 2-1 win for the hosts.

Webb Telescope is now orbiting 1 million miles from Earth

The telescope released from Kourou, French Guiana on Dec. 25.

Webb will orbit the Sun near the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point (L2), which lies approximately 1 million miles (1.Five million kilometers) from Earth.

Webb will orbit the Sun near the second Sun-Earth Lagrange factor (L2), which lies about 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth.

The maximum effective space telescope ever released just fired its thrusters to reach its everlasting cosmic cope with. With this final path adjustment entire, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is now orbiting around the solar at a distance of nearly 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth.

Around 2 p.M. EST on Monday (Jan. 24), ground operators guided the telescope thru a very last mid-direction correction burn, best-tuning JWST's very last orbital role for its technological know-how challenge, NASA representatives introduced in a briefing.

For about 5 mins, the crew fired JWST's station-retaining thruster to gently nudge the observatory into area without overshooting its vacation spot; by way of evaluation, the "big burn" direction correction that became finished with a exceptional thruster on Dec. 25 become for a much more dramatic maneuver and lasted over 60 mins, Keith Parrish, JWST Observatory Manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt Maryland, stated at the briefing.

Shortage Of Food, Medicare Hit Southern Kaduna After Attacks

Shortage of food, drugs and other relief materials has hit Southern Kaduna communities following persistent attacks by gunmen suspected to be Fulani militiamen.

Four local government areas of Southern Kaduna – Zango-Kataf, Kaura, Kauru and Jemaa – have been under persistent attacks, forcing the state government to impose a curfew on them.

Following a week-long attack on communities in the LGAs and the inability of the villagers, who are subsistence farmers, to go to the farm, hunger has crept into the communities.

Sources, who spoke with Punch, said some of the Internally Displaced Person camps, especially at Zonkwa, were being flooded by displaced villagers, including aged women and children.

It was learnt that the development has led to a shortage of food, drugs and relief materials in the camps, as well as in the communities.

A farmer, Jatau Mutum, told Punch that since Saturday, the IDP camp at Zonkwa had witnessed an increased number of displaced persons from Zikpat and other communities under attack.

Mutum, however, added that there was no commensurate food and medical supplies to take care of those at the camp.

"Before now, the ECWA church camp was sustaining no fewer than 1,500 IDPs, but we have over 3,000 displaced persons following the recent attacks on some communities," he said.

The spokesman for the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, Luis Binniyat, stated that daily the union was besieged by calls from families who were starving because "there is no market and farming activities have come to a stop."

"Both the federal and state governments are not ready to look into the plight of the displaced persons in Southern Kaduna," he added.

Meanwhile, the Muslim community in Southern Kaduna, under the aegis of the Muslim Youth Foundation of Southern Kaduna, has alleged isolated killing of its members in the area.

The group added that Muslims were being targeted for killing following attacks on Zikpak in the Jemaa LGA where no fewer than nine persons were killed on Friday.

The chairman of the group, Mohammed Bello, in a statement, said, "Guerrilla attack on Muslims, who are either in transit or in the process of carrying out their legitimate business, has been going on in Southern Kaduna for quite some time now."

Following the recent attacks, Governor Nasir El-Rufai, on Friday, extended the 24-hour curfew to Jema'a and Kaura LGAs.

In a related development, a religious organisation, Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace, on Monday expressed the fear that the killings in Southern Kaduna could unleash hunger on the people of the region and the state.

The organisation recommended that more security posts should be put in place in Southern Kaduna to check the spate of killings, adding that the security post personnel should work with the communities.

A statement by the co-chairmen of IDFP, Bishop Sunday Onuoha and Alhaji Kunle Sanni, called on Kaduna State Government to put in more efforts towards protecting the lives and property of citizens to ensure sustainable peace in all parts of the state.

Southern Kaduna: A Long Story of Herdsmen Raids, Reprisal And Government Neglect

In the last five years, more than a thousand lives have been cut short in southern Kaduna in a series of intermittent raids allegedly by Fulani herdsmen and reprisal on Fulani settlements.

The river of bloody conflict in Southern Kaduna can be traced to minor provocations in a tension-prone area of the Northwest state.

These provocations are rooted in feelings of hatred against the Hausa/Fulani settlers by ethnic groups in the state as the region battles land exploitation and religious clashes. SaharaReporters examines the genesis of the crisis in this report.

How it all started

Before now, the incidents were outbursts of violence that could be traced to a particular event.

After the politically-motivated election violence of 2011, a more dangerous trend of killing that chiefly involved cattle trampling on farmlands and herders carrying guns became the order of the day.

SBM Intelligence said in a research published in January 2017 that the bloodbath in 2016 was the epiphany of the new wave of sustained killings in Southern Kaduna.

“When viewing the current Southern Kaduna crisis, it is important to differentiate between this – killings between September 2016 and January 2017 and the previous historical incidents,” the publication said.

“The first critical difference is in the duration of the incidents. Most of the violent incidents before 2016 were either single incidents or closely related incidents occurring within a short space of time.

“That is not so with the ongoing violence. The violence has occurred in several separate incidents over a while much longer than any others in the history of Southern Kaduna."

SBM, however, recalled that in the aftermath of President Buhari’s loss to Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, there were 13 separate incidents of ethno religious attacks in Kaduna state alone – Southern Kaduna inclusive.

The killings, according to SBM research, was reported to have started in May 2016 and subsided in September 2017.

Land exploitation

A research titled, “Southern Kaduna and the atrocities of Hausa-Fulani Muslim herdsmen,” authored by the African Conflict and Security Analysis Network (ACSAN), said the sustained devastation, which SBM reckons began in 2016, had started earlier.

This report says some communities in Southern Kaduna were “so devastated that they could not even participate in the general election – 2015.”

ACSAN’s paper noted that the bitterness in that part of the state had its roots in the feelings of marginalisation by the different non-Hausa/Fulani groups.

This emotion has festered over the centuries.

“Before colonial and after colonial rule, the indigenous people of Southern Kaduna feel an alien system of governance was imposed upon them.

“In 1450-1850, it was the Saurata System in Zazzau, then came the Emirate System in 1816-1903 and the Native Authority System in 1903-1930, and in all these periods the indigenous people were marginalised and their land exploited,” the report recounted.

Timeline of killing spree

Reports of the frayed relationship between the dominant minority and the marginalised majority started filtering through in the eighties.

Reports reviewed by SaharaReporters showed there were several attacks which culminated in the destruction of properties, before the wildfire of 1987, which led to the death of 19 persons according to official records in 1987.

ACSAN recollects that the fire was reportedly ignited by a Muslim student, Aisha Garba, who was incensed by the preaching of a pastor that had switched from Islam to Christianity, Abubakar Bako.

Ms Garba is said to have jumped onto the podium at the event organised by the Fellowship of Christian Dtudents in the Kafanchan college of education, seized the microphone and “called on all Muslims to rise in defence of Islam.”

On a Sunday thereafter, some Muslim youths attacked an ECWA church.

The governor of the state at that time, Abubakar Umar, issued a broadcast, saying mosques and copies of Koran had been burnt in Kafanchan.

Governor Umar’s seemingly unfounded claim sparked a riot that turned the headquarters of Jema’a local government inside out and spread to other parts of the state.

Before the now frequent herdsmen raids, three more high-fatality riots split the frail cohabitation between the settling Hausa/Fulani and the ethnic non-Muslims of Southern Kaduna.

Between February and May of 1992, the Rahila Cudjoe commission said in its unpublished report that the Zangon-Kataf crisis caused over a thousand deaths and the destruction of multiple properties.

This crisis was sparked by an attempt to relocate the location of the weekly market, which was situated in a clustered Hausa/Fulani neighbourhood.

Within the same period, eight years later, Human Rights Watch said between 2,000 to 5,000 persons were killed, when Muslims and Christians in all of Kaduna went on a violent killing spree.

The deaths were allegedly ignited when Muslim youths attacked a protest organised by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) against an executive bill to introduce Sharia law in the state.

In November 2001, 1,295 persons were murdered in Gwantu, Sanga LGA of Southern Kaduna, according to a police report. This outpour of blood was provoked by the traditional Muslim head of Gwantu and the Christian chairman of the local government.

ACSAN notes that both parties failed to explain to each other that the creation of a Sharia and customary court in the LGA would not affect their way of life. Once clashes broke out on the streets after Friday prayers, the Sanga LGA chairman was said to have left.

Passive government

Since 1987 when the occasional burst of killings started, the federal and state governments have been reported to be either passive or on the side of the Hausa/Fulani attackers.

In 1987, the riot was sparked by the state governor. In 1992, the Rahila Cudjoe commission failed to publish its report, and no stories of culprits being sentenced were reported.

The military did not step in to quell the violence sparked by the Sharia riots until the third month. Riot police were reported to have stayed back and watched houses, churches and mosques get burnt, done nothing.

While the crisis lasted, people were slaughtered on the streets and barricades of burning tyres erected across the state, including in the South.

The military was said to have stepped in when some youths, reported to be Christians, tried to launch a reprisal in a Muslim neighbourhood.

The present Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has been accused of partiality since the sustained herdsmen attacks began.

On February 15, 2019, the former FCTA minister said 66 persons of Fulani extraction were killed in the troubled local government of Kajuru, which is bordered by three local governments at the heart of the southern Kaduna crisis.

He said the death toll rose to 130 four days later but reportedly refused to comment on the killing of 11 persons from the Adara ethnic group during the same timeline of the massacre he announced.

The senator representing the area, Shehu Sani; human rights advocate, Chidi Odinkalu; and the commissioner of police in the state at the time, Ahmad Abdurrahman, disowned El-Rufai’s claims. Sani said the death toll was between 10 and 15; while Odinkalu noted there were 11 deaths.

El-Rufai, who revealed that most of the herdsmen terrorising residents of southern Kaduna and Kajuru are foreigners, attempted to expand the Ladduga grazing reserve.

The Southern Kaduna people, who said they had already lost lands to the Hausa/Fulani settlers, felt this was an affront.

SBM, in its January 2017 report, noted that the failure of governments at both state and federal level, to make policies out of genuine consultation, could see a full-blown militia created in the region.

The intelligence-gathering company highlighted the moves made by the Tarok, Jukun and Eggon ethnic groups to defend themselves against Fulani herdsmen attacks and carry out reprisal on innocent Fulani settlements when provoked.

In one incident in 2013, the Eggon militia was reported to have killed 90 security personnel.

When will the killings in Southern Kaduna stop? Time will tell.

Again, Fulani Herdsmen Attack Southern Kaduna Village, Kill Six People, Many Declared

No less than six people have died after armed Fulani herdsmen attacked Doka Avong Village in Kaduna State.

This is the fourth attack in less than five days on predominantly Christian farming villages in Southern Kaduna area by armed Fulani herdsmen, which has claimed the lives of more than 100 people.

The attackers, who raided Agwala Magayaki area of Doka Avong Village overnight, used machetes to cut unarmed men, women and children to death while many others are reported missing at the time of this report.

Some of the survivors are currently in critical condition at the Idon General Hospital.

One of the victims, a 26-year-old woman, Alheri Mandela Ishaya, is unconscious after sustaining deep machete cuts to her head and face.

Many houses were also burnt in the attack.

UNDATED: Naked Kaduna Women Protest Against Governor El-Rufai Over Rising Insecurity, Endless Killings

Women in Southern Kaduna, Kaduna State, have embarked on a nude protest over the incessant killings in the region.

Southern Kaduna, predominantly occupied by Christians, has witnessed more ethno-religious violence than any region in Nigeria's North.

Last Sunday, 16 people were reportedly killed in an attack by yet to be apprehended gunmen.

The killings have continued despite the deployment of military personnel to the area.

Nigerians Demand Investigation Into Death Of Tolulope Arotile, Country’s First Combat Helicopter Pilot Who Died At 25

Nigerians have taken to social media to express shock and grief over the death of Tolulope Arotile, the country’s first female combat helicopter pilot.

She made history on October 15, 2019 when she was commissioned as the first combat helicopter pilot in the Air Force following the completion of her course at the Starlite International Training Academy, South Africa.

Arotile was instrumental in fighting insurgency in Nigeria, according to the Nigeria Air Force.

“She died as a result of head injuries sustained from a road traffic accident at NAF Base Kaduna,” it said.

NAF’s explanation for the cause of her death is, however, stirring controversy among Nigerians.

Mourning her demise, @Aloyebaba said, “What a painful loss! We need an investigation into how she had a road accident inside the base. The nation mourns this great officer, may her soul rest in peace and God grant the family the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.”

Former Nigerian senator, Shehu Sani, hailed her as a “woman who conquered the impossible”.

In a post on Twitter, he said, “Tolulope Arotile was a shining star who broke barriers and defied conventions. She raced through an uncharted and dreaded path and braced the tape in victory. She refused to be hindered by neither the ceiling nor the sky. She was a woman who conquered the impossible and the unimaginable. RIP.”

Another Twitter user, @ChequerSpell, said, “Was she run over? If not, why would she lose her life by being knocked down by a vehicle in reverse? Too many questions, too few answers. I'm so pained over someone I didn't even know, how much more her own family and friends. RIP.”

Johnson Abe wants the Nigeria Air Force to give Nigerians a more detailed explanation and condoled with her family.

Tweet @JohnsonAbe, he said, “This explanation is quite unacceptable. She is military, some accidents must be investigated and like this one. Condolences to the family and the Nigeria Air Force.”

@OluwafemiMaduka said, “This is so shocking in a rude way. In her short but momentous life she had so much behind her and a lot more ahead of her. She was a pioneer in many ways. May her family find comfort and strength in this very dark time.”

@danbaba_7 tweets, “I shed tears even though I don't know you personally. I am tired of seeing young, brilliant and useful people in our society suddenly cut down and dispatched to the great beyond. May your soul RIP. This is really painful, her future was so bright.”

Nigeria's First Female Combat Helicopter Pilot Dies At 25

Nigerian Air Force's first female combat helicopter pilot, Tolulope Arotile, has died in a road accident.

SaharaReporters gathered that Arotile sustained head injuries from a road accident which occurred at the NAF Base in Kaduna on Tuesday.

She made history on October 15, 2019, when she was commissioned as the first combat helicopter pilot in the Air Force following the completion of her course at the Starlite International Training Academy, South Africa.

NAF, in a statement, said she died on Tuesday.

The statement quoted the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, as describing her death as an "irreparable loss".

It partly read, "It is with great sorrow that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) regretfully announces the unfortunate demise of Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile.

"She died today, July 14 2020, as a result of head injuries sustained from a road traffic accident at NAF Base Kaduna.

"Until her death, ‪Flying Officer Arotile, who was commissioned into the NAF in September 2017 as a member of Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course 64, was the first-ever female combat helicopter pilot in the service.

"During her short but impactful stay in the service, late Arotile, who hailed from Iffe in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, contributed significantly to the efforts to rid the North Central states of armed bandits and other criminal elements by flying several combat missions under Operation GAMA AIKI in Minna, Niger State.

"The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, on behalf of officers, airmen, airwomen and civilian staff of the NAF, commiserates with the family of late Arotile over this irreparable loss.

"We pray that the Almighty God grants her soul eternal rest," NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, said in the statement.

NEMA warns of flood in 102 council areas

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has warned of imminent flood in 102 Local Government Areas across 28 states during this year’s rainy season.

AVM Muhammadu A Muhammed, Director-General of the agency, said that the yearly Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP), and Annual Flood Outlook (AFO), that were released by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), predicted this in June.

He listed Kaura, Zaria, Kaduna North and Chikun local governments of Kaduna state as being within probable risk areas as some of the 102 local governments area with highly probable risk.

He advised governments to organise State Humanitarian Coordination Forum meetings in order to prepare stakeholders for mitigation and response to floods when they occur.

Mohammed called on State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMA) and front line local governments to be prepared.

The director-general advised them to sensitise vulnerable communities to prepare for safe evacuation.

Mohammed further suggested that refuse, weeds, water hyacinths should be removed from drainage channels, water channels and “all avenues for river run-offs so as to allow free flow of flood waters’’.

Kaduna announces 30-bed coronavirus isolation centre in Jema’a council

The Kaduna State Government has converted the sickbay of the College of Nursing and Midwifery, Kafanchan, into a 30-bed capacity temporary COVID-19 isolation centre in Jema’a Local Government.

The 30-bed capacity temporary COVID-19 isolation facility in Kafanchan would service the entire southern Kaduna region until the permanent site proposed at the General Hospital, Kafanchan is built.

The isolation centre is equipped with hospital beds, ambulances with oxygen facilities, Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), and would be manned by four Doctors, Pharmacists, Health environmental Scientists, Nurses among other critical personnel.

Conducting the Jema’a Local Government Chairman, Peter Averik, round the facility on Friday, the Medical Director, General Hospital kafanchan, Samuel Kure, said the isolation centre already has on admission two coronavirus patients from Zango Kataf Local Government Area.

Mr Kure explained that the isolation facility would only diagnose and manage COVID-19 patients while the test would still be conducted at the testing centre in Kaduna.

In his remarks, Mr Averik thanked the governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and the State Task Force on COVID-19 led by the deputy governor, Hadiza Balarabe, for the initiative, adding that the isolation centre would be instrumental in the fight against the coronavirus infection in Southern Kaduna and the state in general.

He advised the people to continue to strictly adhere to the COVID-19 safety protocols.

Kaduna Is Most Dangerous State In Nigeria, CML’s Life Count Shows

A Civic Media Lab collation of media reported deaths in Nigeria for the first six months of 2020 ranks Kaduna State as the part of the country with the highest report of murders.

Its record of 493 persons killed between January and June, is higher than the reported deaths in the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorised territories of Borno; 290, Adamawa; 37 and Yobe; 5.

There were more persons kidnapped in Kaduna State – 178 than any other part of the country based on the reports collected by CML.

This is in contrast to the 10 recorded incidents of kidnapping in Borno.

In keeping with the increasing trend of attacks organised by loosely defined marauders called bandits by the media, the motorcycle-riding killers and cattle rustlers were responsible for at least 566 of the 1,692 deaths shown in the Life Count data.

This is three times more than the 130 attributed to Boko Haram and its ISWAP fraction.

The Life Count data collated 185 incidents and 55 of these were pinned on bandits.

This again was more than the eight reports labelled as Boko Haram attacks and the three committed by ISWAP.

Boko Haram was more deadly with their attacks, killing an average of 15 persons per foray.

Combined with the nine deaths from three strikes by ISWAP, the rate drops to 11.8.

The bandits, on the other hand, had a murder rate of 10.3 deaths with every attack.

While killings by herdsmen are not dominating the headlines, the Life Count data recorded about 29 raids, which led to 148 deaths.

The majority of the deaths carried out by herdsmen as collated by Life Count, were from Kaduna – 63 not from Benue – 26.

Outside the Northern region, the cattle breeders were accused of killing 21 persons in Delta, the highest death toll from herdsmen attacks in the South.

The most fatal of the 185 incidents reported though, was the 250 deaths recorded when the police took on the well-fortified bandit headquarters in Birnin Gwari in Kaduna.

Asides from the 250 deaths most of whom were reported to be on the side of the terrorists, CML’s Life Count collated report showed that police officers were involved in 18 extra-judicial killings.

The army increased that number to 22, with four murders, while trying to enforce COVID-19 lockdowns in a community in Taraba State.

The police raid on the bandit HQ, painted February crimson.

That sole incident contributed to more than half of the deaths in the bloodiest month of the year so far.

In January

In the first month of the year, there were 181 deaths.

Although this month had the lowest number of recorded deaths according to the CML Life Count data, it would be remembered for three attacks.

On January 6, Boko Haram detonated an improvised explosive device on a bridge in the border province of Gamboru in Borno State, killing 30 and injuring 35 others.

Eight days later, bandits attacked the convoy of the Emir of Potiskum in Yobe State, killing 30 and kidnapping a staggering 100 persons.

A week later, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Adamawa State, Lawal Andimi, was beheaded by the ISWAP faction of the Boko Haram militants.

ISWAP had ceremonially killed 11 Christians in December, saying they would launch a campaign against Christians in Nigeria, in 2020, as retribution for the killing of the Islamic State leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, by the USA.

In February

There were 460 deaths in that month, the highest death-rate in the first six months of 2020.

The first major incident was on February 5, when the police raided bandits at Birnin Gwari.

The police were surprisingly engaged by a well-supplied band, who attacked the security force’s air team with anti-aircraft guns.

The death toll of 250 was the most violent recorded this year so far.

Five days later, Boko Haram made a signature raid, killing 30 defenceless passengers.

They were camped outside Maiduguri because they missed entering the city before the 5:00pm curfew.

On Valentine’s Day, the marauding band terrorizing the North-West, showed a glimpse of what residents in certain parts of Katsina were to face, killing 33 in a raid on two villages.

In March

Life Count recorded 180 deaths in March. The third bloodiest day of the year after February 5, was March 2.

On this day, over 50 people were killed in Igabi local government in Kaduna State.

A witness to the attack said newborns and almajiris were not spared in the carnage.

The witness said the bandits, whom he kept describing as Boko Haram, stole nothing and even cremated some of the persons they had already murdered.

20 days later, bandits expressed their fearlessness, killing 29 security officials made up of the army, the police and Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps in Niger State.

The area of Niger where the engagement happened is close to the Birnin Gwari Local Government where the bandits hold sway.

In April

Life Count recorded 183 deaths in the fourth month of the year.

The bloodiest day was April 19.

Bandits invaded a village in Katsina State, killing 34 and carting away as much foodstuff as their 200 motorcycle cavalcade could carry.

A source said the raiders came for the government palliatives given to the residents whose lives have been under the grip of the killers and rustlers.

Six days before that, two communities in Taraba State continued their feud over some ancestral fishing ponds, 25 persons were killed in the latest episode of the communal clash.

Prior to both attacks, bandits raided Sokoto, another North-Western state.

The attack which left 22 persons dead, is said to have lasted for three uninterrupted hours.

In May

May was the third bloodiest month of CML’s Life Count collation.

About 252 persons were killed in 35 reported incidents.

There were three incidents with deaths over 20 and above during this 31-day period.

The most brutal of them was the murder of 74 persons in Sokoto State.

The raid on Sabom Birni came just a day after the governor, Aminu Tambuwal, paid a visit in company with his security chiefs.

The other two major attacks were 20 each in Kaduna and Borno.

In June

After February’s 460 was June’s 395.

In this month, a village in Borno State was completely raised to the ground by an armed group not labeled as Boko Haram.

On June 10, the group killed 81 persons, who were herding their cattle in an open field.

Those, who tried to escape the shooting were run down with vehicles and motorcycles.

The village head was kidnapped, before the village itself was burnt down.

Four days after that, Boko Haram/ISWAP killed 40 civilians and 20 soldiers in the same state.

The same day, Felo Village was burnt, 50 persons were killed in five villages in Katsina.

The attack was linked to bandits.

The National Assembly, which is dominated by representatives from the Northern region of the country, have asked the President to freshen up the offices occupied by his service chiefs.

It is a request the President has not deem fit to agree to.

Many of the communities being attacked are agrarian in nature.

Farmers in these places are finding it impossible to earn a living.

Observers feel Nigeria’s food import bill will continue to soar if it cannot till all the hectares of farmland available to it due to the incessant bloodshed across the country especially in the Northern region.

Dadiyata's Wife Calls For His Release More Than 300 Days After Arrest

Khadijah, wife of Abubakar Idris popularly known as Dadiyata, a social critic with appreciable following, has called for his immediate release.

Khadijat highlighted the pain the family had been through since her husband’s abduction over 300 days ago by gunmen at his Kaduna residence.

Dadiyata has been missing since August 2, 2019 when unidentified men seized him from his residence in Barnawa neighbourhood in Kaduna State.

According to the account given by the police, he was returning home at about 1:00am when some armed men breached his house’s security and took him away in his BMW car.

Till date, he and the vehicle had not been found.

Dadiyata, 34, a lecturer at the Federal University Dutsinma, Katsina State, was initially suspected to have been arrested by the Department of State Services.

Activists and rights groups have been making appeal to the Nigerian Government to determine the whereabouts of Dadiyata, who many see as a victim of enforced disapperance, which is a tactic of political repression prevalent in failed states and dictatorships.

While urging her husband to remain resolute, Khadijat said, “Alhamdulillah for a blissful seven years of marriage.

“We are here for you, we love you forever. You are strong, and I believe we will overcome all of these insha Allah. Let’s hope and pray for the best.”

Congestion In Kaduna Police Cells Leads To Disease Outbreak, Deaths Of Suspects

SaharaReporters has uncovered how police cells in Kaduna State are terribly congested with more than 300 suspects crammed into a single cell.

It was gathered that this was due to the inability of courts to sit following the Coronavirus outbreak.

Top security sources told SaharaReporters that the deplorable situation of police cells in the state had led to the deaths of many suspects in custody.

It was also gathered that the overcrowding was as a result of police refusal to grant bail to suspects after the courts were shut by government.

Findings showed that some of the suspects were transferred from the Criminal Investigation Department while others were dumped into police cells after correctional centers refused to accept them over COVID-19 fears.

SaharaReporters gathered that some of the suspects are sick and in dire need of medical attention.

A source, who pleaded anonymity, said most suspects granted bail were sent back to police stations rather than correctional centres.

He narrated the miserable condition of the suspects in custody and how they were malnourished.

The source also disclosed that the police had secretly buried many suspects, who died custody.

Saharareporters gathered that some concerned citizens have written to the Chief Registrar and Chief Judge of Kaduna State high court, Murtala Zubairu, to notify them about the pitiable situation of the suspects but they had refused to take any action on the matter.

Spokesman for the Kaduna State Police Command, Mohammed Jalige, who spoke to our correspondent, confirmed the congestion of the police cells in the state.

He explained that most of the offences committed by the suspects were not bailable ones.

He added that the command was worried over the development and that something would be done to address the situation next week.

He said, " All the suspects there cannot be released. So, we charged them to court and the correctional centres are no longer accepting convicts into their facility.

"The courts were left with the option to send the suspects back to police custody."

Court jails businessman over N15 million fraud

A High Court in Kaduna State, on Friday, sentenced a businessman, Samson Eneche, and his company, Blue Saint Trading and Logistics Limited, to one year imprisonment for defrauding an oil-servicing company, Del Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited of N15m.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) charged Eneche with one count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretences.

Justice Darius Khobo sentenced Ameche upon review of the case facts and evidence tendered by the EFCC.

Earlier, the EFCC Counsel, S.H. Sa’ad informed the court that the convict was first arraigned in Sept. 12, 2017.

According to the prosecutor, the convict had pleaded not guilty to the charge and was granted bail when he was arraigned but he abused the bail condition granted him and went missing for three years, which led to several adjournments.

Sa’ad told the court that the action of convict prompted the prosecution to apply for his trial in absentia, which the court granted.

During the trial, the prosecution presented two witnesses and tendered 11, exhibits.

How Kaduna Vigilance Group Killed 17-year-old Boy Over Alleged Phone Theft

The police in Kaduna State have confirmed the death of a 17-year-old boy in Zaria while being interrogated by the State Vigilance Service over alleged theft of a cell phone.

ASP Muhammad Jalige, spokesperson for the police in the state, confirmed the incident on Friday, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

Jalige said the commander of KadVS at Jan Labule, Kofar Doka Unit in Zaria, Alhaji Abubakar, and six others had been detained at the Police Divisional Headquarters in the town.

He added that they would be transferred to the Police Command in Kaduna for further investigation.

Father of the victim, Mallam Aliyu Dauda, of Filin Mallawa, Zaria, told journalists on Friday that his son, Muhammad-Sani Aliyu, died while being interrogated by KadVS over alleged phone theft.

Dauda said the incident occurred on Wednesday at about 2pm at Jan Labule, Kofar Doka Unit of the service.

He said one Auwalu, a butcher, alleged that his late son stole his phone.

“As a father, I questioned him over the issue but he insisted that he knew nothing about the phone.

“I later requested my friend, Abubakar Dan-Bakano, to question him about the phone. He (late son) maintained his earlier stand that he did not steal any phone.

“While Abubakar Dan-Bakano was questioning my late son, the complainant Auwalu, arrived with personnel of vigilance service, who took him to their office at Jan Labule, Kofar Doka, Zaria, where he lost his life during interrogation,” he alleged.

Dauda said that the body of his son was laid on the ground at the KadVS’s office until police arrived at the scene.

Hannatu Muhammad, mother of the victim, said that those responsible for the death of her son should be fished out and brought to justice.

Official: Kaduna evacuates 35,000 Almajiri children, receives more than 1,000

The Kaduna State Government has evacuated 35,000 Almajiri children to 17 states and some neighbouring countries.

Hajiya Hafsat Baba, Commissioner for Human Services and Social Development in Kaduna State, who made this known in an interview with newsmen in Kaduna, said that the state equally received more than 1,000 Almajiri from other states.

Baba explained that the measure was part of the state government’s efforts toward ensuring that all children received both Quranic and western education under the care of their parents.

She said that with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the ministry was documenting, counselling, and providing basic healthcare to the Almajiri evacuated from other states.

“This is crucial because apart from COVID-19, some of the Almajiri had skin diseases and other ailments that need to be treated before reuniting them with their families.

“Although enrolling the children into school is the responsibility of the ministry of education, the ministry of human services is currently assessing the state of Tsangaya schools across the state.

“We want to determine their proximity and suitability for enrolling some of the Almajiri living close to such schools where they will acquire both Quranic and western education.” she said.

The commissioner said that the government would continue to take delivery of every Almajiri indigenous to the state and would continue to engage Islamic teachers as parts of community engagement.

She added the ministry would equally continue engaging traditional leaders and relevant stakeholders in communities for them to understand that the children need to be taken care of by their parents.

Gov. Nasir El-Rufa’i had recently warned that parents who enroll their children into the Almajiri education system stand the risk of prosecution and up to two years jail.

El-Rufai said that all the Almajiri pupils repatriated from other states of the country would be given all the opportunity they deserved to grow and develop.

“We will continue to take delivery of every Almajiri pupil indigenous to Kaduna state for rehabilitation, treatment and enrollment into formal school nearest to where their parents live,” the governor said.

THE AFTERMATH OF COVID 19 IN KADUNA.

For over two months businesses, schools and worship centres were all grounded but the business life of Kaduna is pumping again. Everyone feels so excited to carry out his/her daily activities with so much vigour and pride. The lockdown has taught alot of people to appreciate the small business they have. I spoke to Usman who is car washer he said " I have really suffered because I couldn't make any money during the lockdown, nobody came to wash his car as everyone is scared of contracting the virus. So I'm very excited to be back to my business." The life of Kaduna is back again but with strict directives from the government concerning the use of face mask, the agreed number of commuters in buses and the need to improve personal hygiene.

Kaduna Relaxes Ban On Interstate Travel After Reports Of Extortion By Security Officials

The Kaduna State Government has been forced to relax its ban on interstate travel after being inundated with reports of extortions by security officials at the state borders.

The government announced this in a statement on Monday.

The government said the security officials persistently extorted vehicles conveying essential goods, positing that the activities of the security officials at the state borders was jeorpadising the timely and cost-effective delivery of these essential goods.

The government said, “The Kaduna State Government has directed the immediate removal of roadblocks at the various boundaries of the state. Barricades placed at the entry points are to be removed forthwith, while KDSG officials will no longer be posted for boundary patrols.

“The State Task Force on COVID-19 has reviewed the situation at the state boundaries as the state emerges from partial lockdown.

“Persistent extortion of vehicles conveying essential goods by some security officials is complicating an already challenging period.

“The ban of interstate travel by the FG as part of COVID-19 containment efforts has largely been observed in the breach by the people charged with enforcing it.

“The conduct of such officials is also jeopardising the timely and cost-effective delivery of essential goods.

“While insufficient to stop the influx of persons, deployment of senior KDSG officials to entry points was a necessary sacrifice to help reduce the chances of COVID-19 spread through interstate travel, despite lacklustre cooperation by security agencies in enforcing the ban.”

The Kaduna Government added that only roadblocks authorised within the state were those mounted to enforce the 8pm-5am curfew.

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