The Aare Ona Kankanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, has condemned the attack on the Oyo State correctional facility.
Adams noted that the attack on the prison exposed the vulnerability of the correctional facility and the security agencies guarding it.
Gani Adams
SaharaReporters had earlier today reported that the Abolongo facility in Oyo town was attacked by the gunmen on Friday evening.
The gunmen set all the prisoners at the facility free during the attack.
The attackers had stormed the facility at about 10pm, using grenades to gain access and set prisoners free.
Reacting, Adams, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Kehinde Aderemi, said the invasion of Oyo town prison by bandits has exposed the poor security situation in the country.
According to him, the invasion was a national embarrassment, adding that Oyo State and the entire South-west has never experienced such an attack in a very long time.
Adams said, “Oyo town has never recorded such an incident in its long history. It’s unfortunate that insecurity has triggered various types of menace.
“Following the attack on the Abuja-bound train, and the Oyo prison attack, there is certainly no doubt that the bandits are playing out a script that will later engulf the entire nation.
“It’s, indeed, very ridiculous to hear such unsavoury news coming from the ancient town. However, I want to express my concern to Kabiesi, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi and the Oyo State government.
“I’m also using this opportunity to urge the Inspector General of Police to look into the security situation in Oyo and address the problem in the most professional manner. Oyo state is very sensitive to the southwest and we cannot continue to live in fear.”
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Joshua Shonubi, a Nigerian cleric and Pastor of New Life City Church, Maryland, United States, is presently undergoing trial in the United States for allegedly arranging approximately 60 fraudulent marriages for foreign nationals and American citizens.
The Federal Grand Jury charged Shonubi, aged 50 years, of Bowie, Maryland, for a federal charge of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and visa fraud and for presenting false documents to a federal government agency.
This is in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain permanent resident status for foreign nationals by arranging marriages to U.S. citizens.
The indictment was returned on October 20, 2021 and unsealed today upon the defendant’s arrest.
Shonubi is expected to have an initial appearance on Saturday in US District Court in Baltimore before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Mark Coulson.
The indictment was announced by US Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; the Special Agent in Charge, James R. Mancuso, of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; and the District Director, Gregory L. Collett, of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
According to the seven-count indictment, from at least January 2014 through January 2021, Shonubi, pastor of NewLife City Church, Inc. in Hyattsville, Maryland, engaged in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain immigration benefits for foreign nationals by arranging their marriage to United States citizens who served as their sponsors for permanent residence in the United States.
The indictment alleged that Shonubi received thousands of dollars from foreign nationals in exchange for connecting them with U.S. citizen sponsors and facilitating their marriages.
The indictment continued that Shonubi, often utilising his role as pastor of NewLife, directly or through others, recruited and groomed U.S. citizens, including economically disadvantaged citizens, with payments and promises of money in exchange for marrying foreign nationals, then sponsoring the foreign nationals for permanent residence in the United States through USCIS.
Shonubi also allegedly officiated some of the fraudulent marriages or arranged for a civil marriage ceremony to be performed in Virginia. Further, the indictment alleged that Shonubi created and signed at least 38 reference letters on NewLife letterhead in support of foreign nationals’ applications for permanent residence falsely stating; his relation to the parties; the nature of the marriage; his role in providing spiritual guidance or counselling; and his belief as to the romantic nature of the marriage.
On at least 34 occasions, Shonubi also allegedly created false rental leases, listing Jaypro, a corporation he formed in 2015, as landlord, to provide proof that the foreign national and U.S. citizen were living together, when in fact, they were living separately.
The false documents created by Shonubi and others were allegedly submitted to USCIS as part of the foreign nationals’ applications for permanent residence.
The indictment alleged that Shonubi and his co-conspirators submitted at least 60 application packets to USCIS, each documenting a marriage between a U.S. citizen and a foreign national, for the purpose of obtaining permanent residence for the foreign national.
If convicted, Shonubi faced a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit visa fraud and marriage fraud and a maximum of five years in federal prison for each of six counts of presenting false documents to a federal government agency.
Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.
A federal district court judge would determine any sentence after taking into account the US. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
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Joshua Shonubi, a Nigerian cleric and Pastor of New Life City Church, Maryland, United States, is presently undergoing trial in the United States for allegedly arranging approximately 60 fraudulent marriages for foreign nationals and American citizens.
The Federal Grand Jury charged Shonubi, aged 50 years, of Bowie, Maryland, for a federal charge of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and visa fraud and for presenting false documents to a federal government agency.
This is in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain permanent resident status for foreign nationals by arranging marriages to U.S. citizens.
The indictment was returned on October 20, 2021 and unsealed today upon the defendant’s arrest.
Shonubi is expected to have an initial appearance on Saturday in US District Court in Baltimore before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Mark Coulson.
The indictment was announced by US Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; the Special Agent in Charge, James R. Mancuso, of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; and the District Director, Gregory L. Collett, of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
According to the seven-count indictment, from at least January 2014 through January 2021, Shonubi, pastor of NewLife City Church, Inc. in Hyattsville, Maryland, engaged in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain immigration benefits for foreign nationals by arranging their marriage to United States citizens who served as their sponsors for permanent residence in the United States.
The indictment alleged that Shonubi received thousands of dollars from foreign nationals in exchange for connecting them with U.S. citizen sponsors and facilitating their marriages.
The indictment continued that Shonubi, often utilising his role as pastor of NewLife, directly or through others, recruited and groomed U.S. citizens, including economically disadvantaged citizens, with payments and promises of money in exchange for marrying foreign nationals, then sponsoring the foreign nationals for permanent residence in the United States through USCIS.
Shonubi also allegedly officiated some of the fraudulent marriages or arranged for a civil marriage ceremony to be performed in Virginia. Further, the indictment alleged that Shonubi created and signed at least 38 reference letters on NewLife letterhead in support of foreign nationals’ applications for permanent residence falsely stating; his relation to the parties; the nature of the marriage; his role in providing spiritual guidance or counselling; and his belief as to the romantic nature of the marriage.
On at least 34 occasions, Shonubi also allegedly created false rental leases, listing Jaypro, a corporation he formed in 2015, as landlord, to provide proof that the foreign national and U.S. citizen were living together, when in fact, they were living separately.
The false documents created by Shonubi and others were allegedly submitted to USCIS as part of the foreign nationals’ applications for permanent residence.
The indictment alleged that Shonubi and his co-conspirators submitted at least 60 application packets to USCIS, each documenting a marriage between a U.S. citizen and a foreign national, for the purpose of obtaining permanent residence for the foreign national.
If convicted, Shonubi faced a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit visa fraud and marriage fraud and a maximum of five years in federal prison for each of six counts of presenting false documents to a federal government agency.
Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.
A federal district court judge would determine any sentence after taking into account the US. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
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The Controller of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Oyo State Command, Mr. Noel Ailewon, has said more than 300 inmates of the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Abolongo, Oyo, in Oyo State, who escaped during Friday’s attacks have been recaptured.
According to Sun, Ailewon made this revelation in an interview with journalists at the facility in Abolongo, on Saturday, saying profiling of the recaptured inmates and those that did not escape was ongoing.
Oyo prison.tvc
According to him, the gunmen that raided the facility invaded the place around 10pm on Friday came in large numbers and they attacked the centre with sophisticated weapons.
He stated that he was informed about the incident around 10.05pm by the head of the custodial centre.
He said there were varying degrees of injury, and one death was recorded.
The deceased, he said, was an inmate that attempted to escape.
Shortly after the interview with Ailewon, recaptured inmates were brought into the facility in a black maria.
Meanwhile, there was a report that one soldier and two Amotekun operatives were killed during a gun duel with the gunmen.
But the Director-General of an Oyo State joint security outfit, codenamed Operation Burst, Col James Oladipo, said the soldier was not dead as at 1:30pm on Saturday, adding, however, that he was critically injured and he was not sure if he could survive the night injuries.
Moreover, a pick-up van, belonging to Operation Burst was sighted at Abolongo and it was riddled with bullets.
Bloodstains were seen in the vehicle.
Speaking on the incident, the Commandant of Amotekun Corps in Oyo State, Col Olayinka Olayanju (retd) could not be reached on his mobile phone as at the time of filing this report for confirmation on whether two personnel of the security outfit actually lost their lives during exchange of fire with the gunmen.
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Soldiers of the Nigerian Army are presently raiding Oyo town in Oyo State in a mass arrest of youths and residents in the aftermath of the attack on the Nigerian Correctional Service facility in Abolongo, SaharaReporters has learnt.
Some residents on Saturday stated that the military personnel were harassing innocent residents when the Fulani terrorists who carried out the attacks had fled the town.
File Photo
“Now the Nigerian soldiers are in Oyo town are patrolling and arresting young boys at random and taking them away. This is very unsettling to the Oyo natives,” a source said.
“If these random arrests continue, the Oyo natives will start to prepare how they will defend themselves through diabolical means from the armed government personnel,” another resident stated.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported that top prison officials said that the gunmen who carried out the attack did so to free the detained notorious Fulani warlord, Iskilu Wakili and other criminal Fulani herdsmen in the facility.
Sources had told SaharaReporters that the gunmen three days before the Friday invasion struck in Ogbomoso, a neighbouring town to Oyo, and the security operatives were also fully aware of their presence in the area.
“The attack in Oyo last night from the Ogbomosho axis was a well-coordinated Fulani attack aimed at securing the release of Wakili, the terrorist whom (Sunday Adeyemo) Igboho drove away from Ibarapa. I am informed by my staff and very reliable people that he was the object of that attack last night at about 10pm,” one of the top sources had said.
“The rest was just drama. My security staff told me the gunmen struck three days ago on the Oyo-Ogbomosho Road and around that time, their strange faces were also seen around an area the boys described to me. This was a well-coordinated attack with the objective to free Wakili and other Fulani inmates,” he added.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported that the entrance to the prison was blown with an explosive device while security officials at the prison fled for their safety.
Speaking with SaharaReporters on phone, the spokesman of the NCS, Olanrewaju Anjorin, had said; “Yes. It has been confirmed that the attack actually happened. And right now, the Comptroller of Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) and other top officers are assessing the situation. But I can confirm to you that the incident actually happened."
On March 7, a joint team of Ibarapa security operatives, including the Oodua Peoples Congress, Vigilante, and other groups had arrested the notorious Fulani warlord terrorising Oyo communities, Wakili.
Wakili had been arrested after several attempts resulting in a gun battle.
There had been reports that Wakili and his gang were involved in the killings and kidnapping of several people in Ibarapa, Oke Ogun, Oyo State.
Wakili was nabbed barely seven days after his second-in-command, Isiaka Muhammadu, was arrested alongside four others.
The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, had confirmed Wakili’s arrest in a statement.
Meanwhile, on June 7, no fewer than 17 persons were reportedly shot dead by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen at Igangan, in the Ibarapa North LGA.
Residents had said the hoodlums invaded the town on motorcycles around 11pm in an attack which continued until around 3am on Sunday.
They had fingered Wakili’s men on a revenge mission to be behind the attack.
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Soldiers of the Nigerian Army are presently raiding Oyo town in Oyo State in a mass arrest of youths and residents in the aftermath of the attack on the Nigerian Correctional Service facility in Abolongo, SaharaReporters has learnt.
Some residents on Saturday stated that the military personnel were harassing innocent residents when the Fulani terrorists who carried out the attacks had fled the town.
File Photo
“Now the Nigerian soldiers are in Oyo town are patrolling and arresting young boys at random and taking them away. This is very unsettling to the Oyo natives,” a source said.
“If these random arrests continue, the Oyo natives will start to prepare how they will defend themselves through diabolical means from the armed government personnel,” another resident stated.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported that top prison officials said that the gunmen who carried out the attack did so to free the detained notorious Fulani warlord, Iskilu Wakili and other criminal Fulani herdsmen in the facility.
Sources had told SaharaReporters that the gunmen three days before the Friday invasion struck in Ogbomoso, a neighbouring town to Oyo, and the security operatives were also fully aware of their presence in the area.
“The attack in Oyo last night from the Ogbomosho axis was a well-coordinated Fulani attack aimed at securing the release of Wakili, the terrorist whom (Sunday Adeyemo) Igboho drove away from Ibarapa. I am informed by my staff and very reliable people that he was the object of that attack last night at about 10pm,” one of the top sources had said.
“The rest was just drama. My security staff told me the gunmen struck three days ago on the Oyo-Ogbomosho Road and around that time, their strange faces were also seen around an area the boys described to me. This was a well-coordinated attack with the objective to free Wakili and other Fulani inmates,” he added.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported that the entrance to the prison was blown with an explosive device while security officials at the prison fled for their safety.
Speaking with SaharaReporters on phone, the spokesman of the NCS, Olanrewaju Anjorin, had said; “Yes. It has been confirmed that the attack actually happened. And right now, the Comptroller of Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) and other top officers are assessing the situation. But I can confirm to you that the incident actually happened."
On March 7, a joint team of Ibarapa security operatives, including the Oodua Peoples Congress, Vigilante, and other groups had arrested the notorious Fulani warlord terrorising Oyo communities, Wakili.
Wakili had been arrested after several attempts resulting in a gun battle.
There had been reports that Wakili and his gang were involved in the killings and kidnapping of several people in Ibarapa, Oke Ogun, Oyo State.
Wakili was nabbed barely seven days after his second-in-command, Isiaka Muhammadu, was arrested alongside four others.
The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, had confirmed Wakili’s arrest in a statement.
Meanwhile, on June 7, no fewer than 17 persons were reportedly shot dead by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen at Igangan, in the Ibarapa North LGA.
Residents had said the hoodlums invaded the town on motorcycles around 11pm in an attack which continued until around 3am on Sunday.
They had fingered Wakili’s men on a revenge mission to be behind the attack.
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The Nigerian Army has reacted to a report by The Economist that claimed that some of its officers sold arms to terrorists and connived with criminals to perpetuate insecurity in the country.
According to the London-based publication in an article titled, "Insurgency, Secessionism and Banditry Threaten Nigeria" the military officers were described as incapacitated to rescue the country from the ravaging insecurity.
Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff, Faruk Yahaya.
In a statement on Saturday obtained by SaharaReporters, the army’s spokesman, Brig Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, said, “Let it be known to the Economist magazine and those who concocted the lies they published that the gallant officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army are undeterred, undistracted and totally unfazed by the harebrained assertions contained in that silly report.
“Even as the real intention of the otherwise respected Economist magazine in publishing such toxic concoctions weaved up as report on Nigerian Government’s response to the multi-faceted security challenges assailing the country is yet to be unravelled, the source of the article is very clear.
"It is one of those deliberate falsehood and noxious narratives orchestrated by a network of detractors and coven of dark forces working very hard to adorn the Nigerian Army in an unfitting garb of infamy.
"The vile report which the Economist chose to offer its platform for publication, spared no effort in trying to vilify and rubbish the image, character and reputational standing of the Nigerian Army, but failed woefully.
"As a professional, hard-fighting and globally respected institution that has continued to occupy deserved glorious position in the comity of global defence forces, the Nigerian Army is certainly not what the so-called report by the Economist tried to characterize it.
"Even more ludicrous was the embellishments of the said report by the notorious unprofessional media outlets that were quick to republish the obvious falsehood.
"How is it conceivable that an international magazine worth its name and professional reputation would agree to lend its medium for a hatchet job of an article without as much as committing little effort to finding out the real truth about the Nigerian Army?
"How is it imaginable that the Nigerian Army that has distinguished itself as a worthy contributor to global peace and security through regional, continental and international peace keeping and peace support operations would be characterized as “Mighty on paper”?
"How can the Nigerian Army that has restored democracies, brought peace to troubled lands and stabilised the sub-region through the dint of hard work, commitment to duty, discipline and professionalism be so denigrated?
"Is it the 'ghost soldiers' of the Nigerian Army that have weathered the storm of terrorism and insurgency of Boko Haram and Islamic State of West African Province Terrorists (ISWAP) in the north eastern part of the country and parts of the Lake Chad region?
"In case the Economist magazine and those who fed it all the lies it published do not know, the Nigerian Army working in a joint environment, has been able to stop ISWAP, a very formidable international terrorist organization in its tracks, in spite of all the obstacles, including arm sale blackouts on its way.
"The Economist and its ilk ought to have known that the Nigerian Army has long distinguished itself as a professional force that does not toy with accountability nor shirk from its statutory responsibility of defending Nigeria from external aggression or internal insurrection.
"Is it not curious that an otherwise respected international magazine could so easily be sucked in by the antics of conflict merchants and agents provocateurs who are uncomfortable with the steadfastness, patriotism, unwavering commitment, sacrifice, ruggedness and resoluteness of the Nigerian Army in stamping out terrorism, banditry and other violent crimes assailing the country and the West African sub-region?
"How the Economist magazine failed to do simple due diligence on the said fabricated report is worth interrogating by those who are interested in distinguishing between rogue journalism and professional one."
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The Nigerian Army has reacted to a report by The Economist that claimed that some of its officers sold arms to terrorists and connived with criminals to perpetuate insecurity in the country.
According to the London-based publication in an article titled, "Insurgency, Secessionism and Banditry Threaten Nigeria" the military officers were described as incapacitated to rescue the country from the ravaging insecurity.
Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff, Faruk Yahaya.
In a statement on Saturday obtained by SaharaReporters, the army’s spokesman, Brig Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, said, “Let it be known to the Economist magazine and those who concocted the lies they published that the gallant officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army are undeterred, undistracted and totally unfazed by the harebrained assertions contained in that silly report.
“Even as the real intention of the otherwise respected Economist magazine in publishing such toxic concoctions weaved up as report on Nigerian Government’s response to the multi-faceted security challenges assailing the country is yet to be unravelled, the source of the article is very clear.
"It is one of those deliberate falsehood and noxious narratives orchestrated by a network of detractors and coven of dark forces working very hard to adorn the Nigerian Army in an unfitting garb of infamy.
"The vile report which the Economist chose to offer its platform for publication, spared no effort in trying to vilify and rubbish the image, character and reputational standing of the Nigerian Army, but failed woefully.
"As a professional, hard-fighting and globally respected institution that has continued to occupy deserved glorious position in the comity of global defence forces, the Nigerian Army is certainly not what the so-called report by the Economist tried to characterize it.
"Even more ludicrous was the embellishments of the said report by the notorious unprofessional media outlets that were quick to republish the obvious falsehood.
"How is it conceivable that an international magazine worth its name and professional reputation would agree to lend its medium for a hatchet job of an article without as much as committing little effort to finding out the real truth about the Nigerian Army?
"How is it imaginable that the Nigerian Army that has distinguished itself as a worthy contributor to global peace and security through regional, continental and international peace keeping and peace support operations would be characterized as “Mighty on paper”?
"How can the Nigerian Army that has restored democracies, brought peace to troubled lands and stabilised the sub-region through the dint of hard work, commitment to duty, discipline and professionalism be so denigrated?
"Is it the 'ghost soldiers' of the Nigerian Army that have weathered the storm of terrorism and insurgency of Boko Haram and Islamic State of West African Province Terrorists (ISWAP) in the north eastern part of the country and parts of the Lake Chad region?
"In case the Economist magazine and those who fed it all the lies it published do not know, the Nigerian Army working in a joint environment, has been able to stop ISWAP, a very formidable international terrorist organization in its tracks, in spite of all the obstacles, including arm sale blackouts on its way.
"The Economist and its ilk ought to have known that the Nigerian Army has long distinguished itself as a professional force that does not toy with accountability nor shirk from its statutory responsibility of defending Nigeria from external aggression or internal insurrection.
"Is it not curious that an otherwise respected international magazine could so easily be sucked in by the antics of conflict merchants and agents provocateurs who are uncomfortable with the steadfastness, patriotism, unwavering commitment, sacrifice, ruggedness and resoluteness of the Nigerian Army in stamping out terrorism, banditry and other violent crimes assailing the country and the West African sub-region?
"How the Economist magazine failed to do simple due diligence on the said fabricated report is worth interrogating by those who are interested in distinguishing between rogue journalism and professional one."
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Suspected Boko Haram terrorists in about ten gun trucks, in the early hours of Saturday, invaded Katarko village, in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State.
According to Daily Post, residents said the attackers drove into the village in a convoy of gun trucks at about 8am shooting sporadically.
File photo used to illustrate story.
He said troops stationed in the community engaged the attackers.
“We had to run for our lives,” he said.
It was also gathered that there was reinforcement by troops of Sector 2 with support from the air component of Operation Hadin Kai.
Details of the attack were still sketchy as of the time of filing this report.
Katarko village which is about 20 kilometers away from Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, had previously suffered from Boko Haram attacks.
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Suspected Boko Haram terrorists in about ten gun trucks, in the early hours of Saturday, invaded Katarko village, in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State.
According to Daily Post, residents said the attackers drove into the village in a convoy of gun trucks at about 8am shooting sporadically.
File photo used to illustrate story.
He said troops stationed in the community engaged the attackers.
“We had to run for our lives,” he said.
It was also gathered that there was reinforcement by troops of Sector 2 with support from the air component of Operation Hadin Kai.
Details of the attack were still sketchy as of the time of filing this report.
Katarko village which is about 20 kilometers away from Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, had previously suffered from Boko Haram attacks.
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Some gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted two little girls from their parents’ car in Akure, Ondo State capital.
According to Channels Television, the incident happened around 8pm in Leo area of the town on Friday.
The gunmen attacked at the entrance to the house when the mother of the victims was opening the gate to drive into their compound.
It was gathered that the kidnappers came in a car, snatched the car key from the mother of the kids and fled with the car, abandoning their own car.
The Public Relations Officer of Ondo State Police Command, DSP Funmilayo Odunlami confirmed the incident to Channels Television on Saturday.
She disclosed that the case was reported to the police by the mother of the girls and officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Command had swung into action in a bid to rescue the kids and arrest the kidnappers.
The spate of kidnapping across the South-West has been on the rise despite the advent of the Western Security Network codenamed Amotekun by the South-West governors.
Last month, 18 travellers were abducted along the Ifira-Akoko/Idoani road in Akoko South East Local Government while a lecturer of the Department of Education, Adekunle Ajasin University was kidnapped earlier this month on the Akure-Ado Ekiti Expressway.
Also, four members of a family, including a father, his two children, and another family member were kidnapped earlier this month at Iju-Itaogbolu in the Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State.
In reaction to these incessant kidnappings, some monarchs from Ikaram, GedeGede, and Ajowa, in Akoko Northwest Local Government of Ondo state have cried out over the situation, appealing to the police to draft more personnel to the area in order to effectively curb kidnapping challenges facing the communities.
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Some gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted two little girls from their parents’ car in Akure, Ondo State capital.
According to Channels Television, the incident happened around 8pm in Leo area of the town on Friday.
The gunmen attacked at the entrance to the house when the mother of the victims was opening the gate to drive into their compound.
It was gathered that the kidnappers came in a car, snatched the car key from the mother of the kids and fled with the car, abandoning their own car.
The Public Relations Officer of Ondo State Police Command, DSP Funmilayo Odunlami confirmed the incident to Channels Television on Saturday.
She disclosed that the case was reported to the police by the mother of the girls and officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of the Command had swung into action in a bid to rescue the kids and arrest the kidnappers.
The spate of kidnapping across the South-West has been on the rise despite the advent of the Western Security Network codenamed Amotekun by the South-West governors.
Last month, 18 travellers were abducted along the Ifira-Akoko/Idoani road in Akoko South East Local Government while a lecturer of the Department of Education, Adekunle Ajasin University was kidnapped earlier this month on the Akure-Ado Ekiti Expressway.
Also, four members of a family, including a father, his two children, and another family member were kidnapped earlier this month at Iju-Itaogbolu in the Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State.
In reaction to these incessant kidnappings, some monarchs from Ikaram, GedeGede, and Ajowa, in Akoko Northwest Local Government of Ondo state have cried out over the situation, appealing to the police to draft more personnel to the area in order to effectively curb kidnapping challenges facing the communities.
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The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said its members and residents of the South-East region will embark on another sit-at-home for six days except the Nigerian government unconditionally releases its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, before November 4.
IPOB stated that the sit-at-home exercise will commence from November 5 till 10, when Kanu appears at the Federal High Court in Abuja where he is facing treasonable charges levelled against him by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.
The pro-Biafra secessionist group decried how the Nigerian government and its security agencies barred lawyers, journalists and delegates from entering into the court premises, adding that it would no longer condone secret trial arranged for the separatist agitator.
IPOB stated these in a statement by spokesperson, Emma Powerful, which was obtained by SaharaReporters on Saturday.
It reads, “Following the adjournment of our great leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu's court case to 10th of November 2021, by the Federal High Court Abuja, we the great movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), wish to inform Biafrans, friends of Biafra and lovers of freedom that IPOB will lock down Biafra land from 5th of November to 10th of November except Sunday, November 7th, a day our people worship the Almighty God, if the Nigeria Government fails to release our leader unconditionally before 4th of November 2021.
"Our leader, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu must be released unconditionally on or before November 4, 2021 because he has not committed any offense known to any law.
"Failure to release our leader Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu on or before November 4, 2021, our one week Sit-At-Home begins on November 5, 2021 till November 10.
"We have taken time to analyse what transpired on October 21 when our leader was arraigned in court and discovered that the federal government is not sincere and only wants to humiliate him and keep him perpetually in DSS custody to rot there.
"We all saw how lawyers, journalists, Igbo delegates and respected traditional rulers and other people who came from all around the world to witness his court case were restricted and denied access into the court premises by security agents who kept them outside under the scorching heat of the sun.
"We cannot accept that anymore. We can never allow our leader Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to be tried secretly and we can never also allow him to be tried under Sharia law under any guise. Nigeria must follow international laws in handling our leader.
"Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is in DSS dungeon today because of his passion for Biafra independence, and we must sacrifice all we can to ensure that he regains his freedom. He has sacrificed so much for us all, so we must be prepared to sacrifice little for him.
"Unless the federal government releases him unconditionally before November 4, we shall sacrifice one week for him as a warning protest to convey to our oppressors that Nnamdi Kanu represents over 70million Biafrans. He is innocent of all the charges preferred against him. As long as he is in detention our individual businesses do not matter so much because he is suffering for us all and we can't abandon him."
PoliticsNewsAddThis : Original Author : saharareporters, new york Disable advertisements :
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The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said its members and residents of the South-East region will embark on another sit-at-home for six days except the Nigerian government unconditionally releases its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, before November 4.
IPOB stated that the sit-at-home exercise will commence from November 5 till 10, when Kanu appears at the Federal High Court in Abuja where he is facing treasonable charges levelled against him by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.
The pro-Biafra secessionist group decried how the Nigerian government and its security agencies barred lawyers, journalists and delegates from entering into the court premises, adding that it would no longer condone secret trial arranged for the separatist agitator.
IPOB stated these in a statement by spokesperson, Emma Powerful, which was obtained by SaharaReporters on Saturday.
It reads, “Following the adjournment of our great leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu's court case to 10th of November 2021, by the Federal High Court Abuja, we the great movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), wish to inform Biafrans, friends of Biafra and lovers of freedom that IPOB will lock down Biafra land from 5th of November to 10th of November except Sunday, November 7th, a day our people worship the Almighty God, if the Nigeria Government fails to release our leader unconditionally before 4th of November 2021.
"Our leader, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu must be released unconditionally on or before November 4, 2021 because he has not committed any offense known to any law.
"Failure to release our leader Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu on or before November 4, 2021, our one week Sit-At-Home begins on November 5, 2021 till November 10.
"We have taken time to analyse what transpired on October 21 when our leader was arraigned in court and discovered that the federal government is not sincere and only wants to humiliate him and keep him perpetually in DSS custody to rot there.
"We all saw how lawyers, journalists, Igbo delegates and respected traditional rulers and other people who came from all around the world to witness his court case were restricted and denied access into the court premises by security agents who kept them outside under the scorching heat of the sun.
"We cannot accept that anymore. We can never allow our leader Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to be tried secretly and we can never also allow him to be tried under Sharia law under any guise. Nigeria must follow international laws in handling our leader.
"Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is in DSS dungeon today because of his passion for Biafra independence, and we must sacrifice all we can to ensure that he regains his freedom. He has sacrificed so much for us all, so we must be prepared to sacrifice little for him.
"Unless the federal government releases him unconditionally before November 4, we shall sacrifice one week for him as a warning protest to convey to our oppressors that Nnamdi Kanu represents over 70million Biafrans. He is innocent of all the charges preferred against him. As long as he is in detention our individual businesses do not matter so much because he is suffering for us all and we can't abandon him."
PoliticsNewsAddThis : Original Author : saharareporters, new york Disable advertisements :
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President Muhammadu Buhari will on Tuesday leave the country for Saudi Arabia and later proceed to France and Scotland where he is expected to begin a fresh round of medical checkup, SaharaReporters has learnt.
SaharaReporters gathered that Buhari will spend up to two weeks on his medical tour but his first point of call is Saudi Arabia for Umrah, otherwise known as the Lesser Hajj. File Photo: Buhari medical tourism
SaharaReporters learnt that the President after performing the Umrah will then go to Europe for his medical examinations.
In August this year, Saudi Arabia had announced plans to gradually begin receiving Umrah pilgrimage requests from abroad for vaccinated pilgrims starting after about a year and a half of not receiving overseas worshippers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was announced that with a capacity that would rise to 2 million pilgrims from 60,000 pilgrims per month, Mecca and Medina will start welcoming visitors from abroad to their mosques while maintaining COVID-19 precautionary measures.
Last week, it was also reported that the Grand Mosque in Makkah was ready to receive pilgrims and worshippers at full capacity, just as the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah lifted the restrictions placed upon the performance of Umrah and Prayers in the Rawdah Al Shareefah.
Top sources confirmed to SaharaReporters that Buhari would leave Nigeria on Tuesday for his trip for pilgrimage and medical treatments.
“Baba (Buhari) is going to Saudi Arabia, France and Glasgow from Tuesday. The date is set and part of it is for his medicals. The trip will not exceed two weeks but the first stop is Saudi Arabia. He will go for the Umrah before heading for Paris and Glasgow,” one of the sources revealed.
SaharaReporters had exclusively reported that Buhari would be visiting Glasgow, Scotland; Paris, France, and Dubai, the United Arab Emirates before the end of 2021.
“Buhari to visit Glasgow, Scotland, Paris, France and Dubai, UAE before the end of 2021 amidst strong rumour of third term agenda,” a source had said.
Meanwhile, the President’s health has been a source of concern for many Nigerians.
SaharaReporters in December 2020 had reported how the inability of President Buhari to make critical decisions on insecurity and the depressed economy had become worrisome to many Nigerians – a situation which his dementia and other undisclosed illnesses he is treating could have contributed to.
It had been reported that his medical conditions had forced him to jet out of the country at least six documented times for treatment, spending more than 200 days since 2015 when he assumed office in his first term.
SaharaReporters had examined a timeline of the president's trips abroad for medical treatment since he assumed office on May 29, 2015.
In summary, Buhari spent 19 days in 2016, 155 days in 2017, and four days in 2018 getting treatment in the UK. In 2019, the president embarked on a 10-day private trip to the UK suspected to be for medical reasons.
In 2020, the president could not make his trip due to the coronavirus pandemic which caused a halt in flight operations. In 2021, the President had also been out of the country to London, UK for medical treatment.
In the first three years of his first tenure from May 2015 to May 2019, he was outside the country for a combined 404 days – one year and 39 days in 33 countries, which was both for official and medical purposes.
President Muhammadu Buhari will on Tuesday leave the country for Saudi Arabia and later proceed to France and Scotland where he is expected to begin a fresh round of medical checkup, SaharaReporters has learnt.
SaharaReporters gathered that Buhari will spend up to two weeks on his medical tour but his first point of call is Saudi Arabia for Umrah, otherwise known as the Lesser Hajj. File Photo: Buhari medical tourism
SaharaReporters learnt that the President after performing the Umrah will then go to Europe for his medical examinations.
In August this year, Saudi Arabia had announced plans to gradually begin receiving Umrah pilgrimage requests from abroad for vaccinated pilgrims starting after about a year and a half of not receiving overseas worshippers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was announced that with a capacity that would rise to 2 million pilgrims from 60,000 pilgrims per month, Mecca and Medina will start welcoming visitors from abroad to their mosques while maintaining COVID-19 precautionary measures.
Last week, it was also reported that the Grand Mosque in Makkah was ready to receive pilgrims and worshippers at full capacity, just as the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah lifted the restrictions placed upon the performance of Umrah and Prayers in the Rawdah Al Shareefah.
Top sources confirmed to SaharaReporters that Buhari would leave Nigeria on Tuesday for his trip for pilgrimage and medical treatments.
“Baba (Buhari) is going to Saudi Arabia, France and Glasgow from Tuesday. The date is set and part of it is for his medicals. The trip will not exceed two weeks but the first stop is Saudi Arabia. He will go for the Umrah before heading for Paris and Glasgow,” one of the sources revealed.
SaharaReporters had exclusively reported that Buhari would be visiting Glasgow, Scotland; Paris, France, and Dubai, the United Arab Emirates before the end of 2021.
“Buhari to visit Glasgow, Scotland, Paris, France and Dubai, UAE before the end of 2021 amidst strong rumour of third term agenda,” a source had said.
Meanwhile, the President’s health has been a source of concern for many Nigerians.
SaharaReporters in December 2020 had reported how the inability of President Buhari to make critical decisions on insecurity and the depressed economy had become worrisome to many Nigerians – a situation which his dementia and other undisclosed illnesses he is treating could have contributed to.
It had been reported that his medical conditions had forced him to jet out of the country at least six documented times for treatment, spending more than 200 days since 2015 when he assumed office in his first term.
SaharaReporters had examined a timeline of the president's trips abroad for medical treatment since he assumed office on May 29, 2015.
In summary, Buhari spent 19 days in 2016, 155 days in 2017, and four days in 2018 getting treatment in the UK. In 2019, the president embarked on a 10-day private trip to the UK suspected to be for medical reasons.
In 2020, the president could not make his trip due to the coronavirus pandemic which caused a halt in flight operations. In 2021, the President had also been out of the country to London, UK for medical treatment.
In the first three years of his first tenure from May 2015 to May 2019, he was outside the country for a combined 404 days – one year and 39 days in 33 countries, which was both for official and medical purposes.
