Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Tuesday 9th February 2021
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 09/02/21
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#FreeElijahOde: Benue Senator Demands Release Of Barber Arrested In Kano Over Anti-Islam Haircuts
The Senator representing Benue South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Abba Moro, has demanded the immediate release of Elijah Ode, a young barber arrested for allegedly insulting Islam through the haircuts he gave two customers in Kano State.
Ode, who hails from Adum East, in the Obi Local Government Area of Benue State, was arrested for giving his customers haircuts deemed to be offensive to Islam.
He is currently being tried in Gyadi-Gyadi Magistrates’ Court sitting in Kano.
In a statement issued by his media office in Abuja on Sunday, Moro said that the arrest of Ode was an infringement on his rights.
The senator also promised to pursue the course of justice for the young man.
The statement read: “The arrest and continued incarceration of Elijah Ode, a young barber from Obi LGA, based in Kano State, by a group of Muslims over a harmless hairstyle he designed on two of his customers is highly condemnable, unacceptable, unconstitutional and an infringement on the rights of the young man to live and ply his legitimate trade in any part of the country without molestation and harassment.
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Kano Barber Detained For Giving Customers Haircuts That ‘Offend’ Islam Narrates Initial Arrest, Shares Photos Of The Hairstyles
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“None of my constituents will suffer unjustly anywhere, as long as I remain their Senator. I must follow up on this case, with all the seriousness it deserves, until justice is gotten for the boy, because I believe he has done nothing wrong in being creative and innovative.”
SaharaReporters earlier reported how the Kano State Hisbah Corps arrested Ode in the Sabon Gari area of the state.
Hisbah arrested the young man after two of his customers were caught with hairstyles deemed blasphemous to the Islamic religion.
In a Twitter post on January 26, Ode had borne lurid details of his first arrest accompanied by pictures of the said haircuts.
He tweeted, “My name is Elijah, I’m a barber based in Kano. I was arrested by Metro Area police command authority, Bank Road, Kano on 15th January, 2021.
“Reasons for the arrest goes thus: According to the police officers that showed up in my shop that day, in response to the allegation made against me by some members of the Islamic group in Kano, they said that they received a report that I gave two of my clients a haircut style (sic) with a design of an image which was said to have some similarities with something in Islamic religious group.
“However, they eventually arrested me, took some of my barbing tools. They also arrested the two of my clients who had the hairstyle on their heads. We were being detained till in the evening on Friday 15th till Saturday night, 16th.”
“We were being charged approximately N27,000 plus for the alleged offence. My shop was shut down for 4 days and it took 4 days as well for me to be able to get my tools back. Attached is the haircut design which they allegedly claimed is an Islamic inscription.”
After the post, Ode was arrested a second time and has since been detained.
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Houses, Shops, Vehicles, Petrol Stations Burnt During Communal Clash In Osun
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Many houses were razed in Erin-Osun and Ilobu towns following the communal clash between the two towns over land dispute.
No fewer than two persons were reportedly killed while many sustained bullet injuries during the attack.
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Also, many houses were set ablaze and residents fled their homes, leaving their belongings behind to avoid being killed.
Soldiers and policemen deployed to quell the crisis ensured the enforcement of the curfew imposed by the state government.
The state Commissioner of Police, Wale Olokode, on Monday read the residents of the two towns the riot act, urging their traditional rulers to end the clash or face the full wrath of the law.
At a meeting with the traditional rulers of the two towns – the Olobu of Ilobu, Oba Ashiru Olatoye and the Elerin of Erin-Osun, Oba Yusuff Omoloye Oyagbodun – Olokode pleaded with them to prevail on their subjects to end the clash.
Also, the state governor, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, at a peace meeting held at the Government House in Osogbo appealed to the traditional rulers to ensure there is peace in their domains.
The communal clash between the two towns started on Saturday after an altercation between the two monarchs in a phone conversation.
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Notorious Bandits Commander, Daudawa, Others, Repent, Surrender Weapons, Pledge With Quran
A notorious commander of bandits known as Auwalun Daudawa from Gidan Jaja on Monday repented and surrendered the group’s weapons to the Zamfara State Government.
Daudawa and members of his group also took an oath to stop banditry and embrace the peace accord instituted by Governor Bello Matawalle to end the decade-old banditry in the state.
They were received at the Government House in Gusau, the state capital, in the presence of some traditional rulers and Islamic clerics who took turns to counsel them as their weapons were handed over to the State Police Command.
They surrendered 20 AK 47 rifles, 1 RPG, 1 PKT, 20 magazines and 72 live ammunition.
The bandits, who swore on the Holy Quran, indicated their willingness to stop banditry and embrace peace for the rest of their lives.
Zamfara, like other North-West states, has in the last 10 years faced devastating attacks from armed bandits.
In 2019, the state government entered a peace agreement with the gunmen.
But despite all these, communities in the state are still being attacked and residents kidnapped and/or killed.
About 15 brand new Hilux vehicles and cash gifts were also given to leaders of different ‘repentant’ banditry groups by the governor in 2020.
A top military officer recently told SaharaReporters that the bandits were carrying out attacks with some of the vehicles given to them by Matawalle.
The officer had said, “Those bandits have different groups, so if they say they repent, the governor will give them a Hilux vehicle but unfortunately they are now using the vehicles to carry out attacks.
“Like yesterday (Monday), they attacked Jankara but were resisted by the local vigilantes, so they fled and left one of those Hilux vehicles and the motorcycles they came with behind.
“It’s so sad, he called it a peace and reconciliation programme, but all you need to be rich now in Zamfara is to take up arms against the people.”
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Ogun Police Arrest Robber Who Operates In Civil Defence Corps Uniform
The Ogun State Police Command has arrested an armed robbery suspect, Adeolu Bankole, who impersonates an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to rob people.
Adeolu, who was wearing NSCDC uniform, was arrested following a tip-off by students of Olabisi Onabanjo University.
The students had reported at Ayetoro Police Area Command that they were robbed of their belongings at gunpoint.
According to them, the suspected robber, who was dressed in NSCDC uniform, broke into their apartment and stole their mobile phones and laptop.
In a statement, the command’s spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the suspect was apprehended on Saturday.
He said the police had started an investigation into the matter, disclosing that that the uniform belonged to a member of the corps whose car was set ablaze by the robbers.
The statement read, ”Upon the report, the area commander, Ayetoro, ACP Anthony Haruna, detailed his detectives to go after the hoodlum. After hours of painstaking investigation, the detectives received information about the hideout of the suspect. On getting there, a bag containing six phones, one laptop, a pair of civil defence uniforms and a locally made pistol was found.
“Upon the discovery, the detectives mounted surveillance in the area and at about 5pm, the suspect sneaked into the uncompleted building which is the hideout and moved straight to where the bag was kept. He was quickly rounded up and brought to the station. Two other stolen phones and a wristwatch were also found on him.
“The complainants were sent for, and they all identified him as the person who robbed them. Investigation further revealed that the suspect stole the pair of civil defence uniform from a parked Toyota Camry belonging to an officer of the corps in December 2020 and thereafter set the car ablaze. The officer has also identified the uniform as his own.”
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Gunmen Attack Funeral Convoy In Edo, Kidnap Brother Of Deceased
File photo used to illustrate story.
Gunmen have attacked a family travelling to Enugu State from Lagos State to bury a dead family member, kidnapping the younger brother of the deceased who was in the ambulance.
According to Vanguard, the family, whose name could be ascertained as at the time of filing this report, was attacked while the ambulance was badly damaged.
File photo used to illustrate story.
It was gathered on Sunday that the incident happened along the Benin bypass near Ahor, an area that has become notorious for kidnapping in the past few days.
Narrating the incident, the driver of the ambulance marked Lagos KRD782GO, who gave his name as Salami Orijiwa, said they left Lagos as early as 6 am on Saturday to make the journey early to Enugu.
“I carried a corpse in the ambulance and we were coming from Lagos and going to Enugu to bury him and the younger brother of the deceased was sitting with me at the front of the vehicle.
“When I first sighted them, I thought they were policemen because one of them was holding a gun in the right hand and then I saw another one on the left carrying a cutlass. At that point, I thought they were thieves and then suddenly I saw another person in front who pointed a gun at us and shot, I quickly bent down inside the vehicle and that was how I lost control and veered into the bush and fell into a ditch.
“The bullet hit the vehicle behind me and the driver died on the spot.”
Vanguard yesterday gathered that the family was still negotiating with the abductors said to be demanding a ransom of N5 million for the release of the victim.
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Suspected Herdsmen Attack Motorists In Oyo Community, Angry Residents Burn Fulani Settlement
File photo used to illustrate story.
Some hours before the Oyo State government assured residents of the state that the Ibarapa area of the state was now safe for people to move without fear or intimidation, motorists in three cars were attacked by suspected herdsmen in Eruwa, capital of Ibarapa East Local Goverment area of the state.
The incident was said to have occurred at a place known as Okolo in Eruwa.
File photo used to illustrate story.
Guardian Nigeria
The Commandant of Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun Corps), Col. Olayinka Olayanju (rtd), had earlier declared that Ibarapaland was safe and free of killer herdsmen and kidnappers.
The Commandant, who stated this in a statement made available in Ibadan, said he would volunteer to lead anyone interested in touring the parts of Ibarapaland earlier hit by herders/farmers’ crisis.
He also denounced some audio and video posts on social media, which tend to raise what he called “clearly unfounded alarms” about the Ibarapa security situation, saying he had been moving in and out of the area for days now.
According to him, farmers and the law- abiding people in the area are going about their businesses without molestation.
But an eyewitness told Saharareporters in Ibadan that the attack on the people of Eruwa on Sunday morning led to burning of the Fulani settlement in Eruwa.
He said many travellers who sustained injuries during the attack, have been taken to an undisclosed hospital for treatment, but however added that nobody was killed in the incident.
Meanwhile, the state government on Monday said the Ministry of Health in the state had commenced the treatment of three victims of herdsmen attacks in Igangan area.
Commissioner for Health, Dr. Bashir Bello, who spoke to newsmen in Ibadan, said that the trio were currently receiving treatment in a government hospital in Ibadan and in stable condition.
Bello stated that the decision to relocate the victims of herdsmen attacks to Ibadan was taken by Makinde during his visit to Igangan last week.
He said that the governor had directed the state’s Ministry of Health to arrange for the state government to foot the hospital bills of the three victims.
A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, quoted the commissioner as saying that all necessary biomedical and laboratory investigations had been conducted on the three victims.
He added that the trio, namely Isaiah Seun, 26; Emmanuel Aderogba, 71; and Adekola Adeyemo, 65, have been attended to by both orthopedic surgeons and specialists, and that they are all doing well at the Ring Road State Hospital, Adeoyo.
He maintained that the cost of all the investigations done, laboratories’ investigations and the x-rays were borne by the state government, adding that the hospital management hds been given the mandate to give the victims everything required without paying any bill.
According to Bello, Makinde gave his word at Igangan that the victims would be taken care of, even if it required tertiary health facilities’ attention, noting, however, that upon evaluation, it was discovered that the three cases could be managed properly by secondary health facilities.
He said: “Following the directive of His Excellency that the ministry should take charge of the three victims of herdsmen attack at Igangan. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, the Permanent Secretary of the Hospital Management Board and a team of medical doctors went down and combined with the chairman of Ibarapa North-West LCDA, and brought the three victims; one is Isaiah Seun, a 26-year-old bricklayer and commercial motorcycle rider before the injury occurred. He had a head injury and was fairly conscious and alert when brought in.
“The second was an elderly man of 71 years, Mr. Emmanuel Aderogba, with a fractured right radius. He is also being hospitalised. The third man is 65-years-old, Mr. Adekola Adeyemo, also with a head injury. He was a tree-felling machine operator.
“All of them have been taken care of; X-rays were done for those with fractures and head injuries. All necessary biomedical and laboratory investigations have been conducted. They have been attended to by both orthopedic surgeons and specialists necessary and they are all doing well now in the hospitals. They are all at Ring Road State Hospital, Adeoyo.
“I must mention that all attentions given, investigations done, laboratories investigations and the X-rays were free because the costs were borne by the state government.
“They will also be very happy to report on their state of health and the hospital management has been given the mandate to give them all that is required, that is, without any bills. All bills will be settled by the Hospital Management Board and the Ministry of Health.
“The governor gave the word that he will take special care of them even if it will require tertiary attention. But by our evaluation, it is a case that the secondary health care facility can properly manage. We thank the governor for the very positive action taken and we also thank him for his concern for the welfare of the citizenry entirely.”
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Gunmen Kidnap Couple In Delta Community, Steal their Car
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A man simply identified as Ojo has been kidnapped alongside his wife, Alice, by gunmen in Abraka Community, Delta State.
According to a Vanguard report, the couple were abducted at the Erho axis along the old Abraka/Eku road of the state on Sunday.
It was gathered that the couple were heading home when they were ambushed at a bad spot along the road by the hoodlums who whisked them away to an unknown destination.
A source at the Abraka police station confirmed the incident.
The source said the hoodlums went away in the Toyota Venza car belonging to the couple.
“The husband owns a popular boutique in Abraka and was on his way home with his family when the hoodlums struck, but efforts are currently being put in place to ensure that they are rescued unhurt and the culprits brought to justice,” the source added.
In a similar report, suspected herdsmen have allegedly kidnapped a female farmer, Joy Osamezu, on her farm in Obiaruku, Ukwuani Local Government Area of the state.
According to reports, she was adopted on Saturday while working on the farm.
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E2%80%99t-negotiate-merciless-killer-bandits-%E2%80%93-el-rufai Gumi, Others Wasting Their Time, Kaduna Won’t Negotiate With Merciless Killer Bandits – El-Rufai
Kaduna State Governor Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai
The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has said that Fulani bandits are used to getting big money and will not repent, adding that anyone preaching to them is wasting their time.
The governor reiterated that Kaduna was at war with the criminal elements, pointing out “my administration is at war with the bandits and so we cannot negotiate. Eliminating them is the only solution to banditry.”
According to Vanguard, he said the Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gummi, was wasting his time as there would not be any forgiveness and compensations for bandits.
“I never believed that a Fulani herdsman who ventured into banditry and is collecting millions of naira as ransom will repent. I spoke to Dr Gumi, who is my friend, I explained that the majority of these bandits don’t believe in religion. That is why they kill mercilessly.
“Anybody who thinks a Fulani herdsman that was used to only getting N100,000 in a year, after selling a cow, but now is getting millions through kidnapping for ransom will stop, is only wasting his time.”
On the synergy to confront the criminal elements in the region, the governor lamented the division amongst governors in the North-West region.
According to him, while some of the governors consider dialogue with the bandits ?as a solution, he and others do not see that as a solution.
He said, “We the governors lack unity among ourselves in this region in working as one to neutralise the bandits. We in Kaduna and Niger states are talking on how to end the problem. The governor of Niger state calls me and we are discussing.
“Anybody that thinks a Fulani man that ventured into kidnapping for ransom and he is earning millions of naira would go back to his former life of getting N100,000 after selling a cow in a year, must be deceiving himself.”
“Why should they be compensated after killing people? They destroyed their houses. Who offended them? Ahmad Gumi is my friend and this is what I told him.
“I told him that the majority of these Fulani bandits don’t believe in religion. Therefore, I don’t believe in what he is doing, that they should be forgiven and compensated. If any ?bandit is arrested in Kaduna State, the bandit will be killed because Kaduna is in war with bandits.”
“They kill without mercy, they don’t believe in the religion,” he said.
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E2%80%93-leader Senate Will Debate Fulani Herdsmen Crisis On Tuesday Or Wednesday – Leader
The Senate has said it will discuss the issue of Fulani menace ravaging the country on Tuesday.
Yahaya Abdullahi, Leader of the Senate, told journalists in his office on Monday that Prof. Ajayi Boroffice, Deputy Senate Leader, who represents Ondo North in the Senate, would come up with a motion on the issue and that it would be discussed on Tuesday or Wednesday.
According to Abdullahi, the Presidency should encourage political and traditional rulers to play a major role in resolving the problem.
He said, “This is a kind of crisis that is tending towards a governance trajectory where some political actors and ethnic entrepreneurs are coming into the process and spoiling the waters. These are existential issues that have set communities that have hitherto been living together peacefully, against each other, either for political advantage or political matters.
“These are issues that should be resolved at the local level either through dialogue or give and take. They are people that have lived together, they should come together and engage in a dialogue. The Federal Government is too distant to resolve every communal dispute everywhere. Inter-communal disputes should be resolved by the people in the area.
“They should be resolved by political leaders at the level of the National Assembly, at the level of the governors, local government councilors to sit down with their people so that a lot of these issues can be articulated and addressed by the local population.
“This is what the governors at their levels should do, not to always run to the presidency to solve one dispute here and there. How many arms does the Federal Government have? This is a federation and we are all politically responsible leaders. At the various levels where they are, they should sit down and talk to one another on these disputes.
“I can assure you that in no distant time these inter-communal conflagrations would be resolved. I think the way it may be resolved is in the interest of this country’s unity and integrity. There would be hopefully tomorrow (Tuesday) or Wednesday a general motion will be sponsored by the Deputy Senate Leader, Ajayi Boroffice; he will come with a motion on the issue on the floor of the Senate tomorrow.”
Attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen in many parts across the country have recently led a number of communities to demand their exit from their domains.
An agitator for Oduduwa Republic, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, recently issued a seven-day ultimatum to Fulani herdsmen to leave the Ibarapa area of Oyo State, blaming them for the spate of killings and kidnappings there.
Earlier, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State had also given herdsmen seven days to vacate the state’s forest reserves, saying some people masquerading as herders had been using the forests to commit crimes.
Some Edo women and youths last week also asked Fulani herdsmen to leave their communities, saying they were to blame for the violence in their areas.
However, the Presidency, in its response to Akeredolu’s ultimatum, said the country’s constitution guarantees the rights of citizens to move and live in any part of the country.
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IPOB Hits Back At Sheikh Gumi Over Comparison With Boko Haram
The indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has lambasted Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, over his claim that those agitating for Biafra and Oduduwa republics are miscreants akin to the Boko Haram sect terrorising the country.
Gumi had in a recent interview with BBC said the majority of Nigerians desire unity as against secession, describing those clamouring for secession as miscreants.
He had said, “Look, let’s forget these useless youths. They’re no more different from these herdsmen. These people agitating for Oduduwa, Biafra or Arewa are all the same group of people with Boko Haram.
“Majority of Nigerians want to stay with Nigeria. And if they are in doubt, let’s make a referendum… So, all these youths that are making noise, whether Abubakar Shekau of Boko Haram, Nnamdi Kanu of IPOB and their Oduduwa counterpart, they are just a tiny minority of Nigerians using ethnic, archaic and retrogressive sentiments to destabilise the nation.”
But in a statement issued by its media and publicity secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB alleged that such statements confirm that Gumi is one of the “hardened supporters of Fulani terrorism”.
The group questioned the ease at which the cleric got bandits to surrender their weapons before the government.
It warned that the IPOB should not be compared to the Boko Haram terrorist group.
According to the group, IPOB is after self-determination which is a constitutionally guaranteed right while Boko Haram is a terrorist organisation committing crimes.
The statement partly read, “We, the global family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), under the leadership of our great leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, read with incredulity a provocative remark credited to a filthy looking so-called acclaimed Islamic cleric in the mould of Sheikh Gumi that bandits and freedom fighters are the same.
“Gumi in the said media report, allegedly compared agitators of Biafra and Oduduwa republics with his Fulani bandits rampaging the North and ravaging the entire South. Such a statement if true, has simply unmasked and exposed the real identity of this man masquerading as an Islamic cleric when in actual fact he is one of the hardened supporters of Fulani terrorism.
“With such ignorance-laden utterance from a supposed Islamic scholar, the world does not need to look far for the real sponsors of banditry and terrorism in Nigeria. We now know those behind the killing spree and evil agenda to decimate indigenous ethnic populations and non-Muslim communities across Nigeria.
“Before now, Nigerians were deceived into believing that bandits and other agents of terror on rampage all over Nigeria were invisible and without a fixed address. How come this pretender and self-acclaimed Islamic cleric knew where to find the bandits? He even posed for a picture with gun-wielding murderers and was very proud of it.
“How was it that this man managed to locate the hideout of these mass murderers but the Nigeria Air Force cannot? How come there hasn’t been any invasion or bombing of any these bandits’ settlements in the North but the same Nigeria Air Force was quick to deploy fighter jets to be terrorising innocent citizens in Orlu?
“Not only did Sheikh Gumi wine and dine with their bandits, he has also suddenly become their advocate. He has gone to the extent of comparing blood suckers with self-determination activists. What a national embarrassment!
“In his warped mind, Sheikh Gumi can no longer differentiate between self-determination, which is a constitutionally guaranteed right and terrorism which is a crime. This hypocrisy has confirmed our earlier position that terrorism and banditry in Nigeria are common agenda of the caliphate.”
IPOB further described Gumi’s statement as an insult to freedom fighters all over the world. including Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of Scotland.
“Other ethnic groups and nationalities may fall or capitulate before the hegemonic might of the Fulani caliphate in Nigeria but not those of us from the East,” the statement said.
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