Gunmen raided Tunga Maji, a suburb of Abuja, early Thursday, abducting an unspecified number of residents, Premium Times has learnt.
One resident said at least 20 people were kidnapped after prolonged shooting in the community that lies near Zuba. This figure could not be immediately confirmed.
The police spokesperson for the federal capital territory, Anjugur Manzah, told PT he was working on a statement on the incident.
He did not confirm the number of those kidnapped, or whether there were casualties.
A resident of the area who would not be named for security reasons said heavy shooting started in the community at about 12.15a.m. and lasted more than an hour.
He said members of the local vigilante group were overwhelmed.
“We didn’t sleep throughout the night. It’s this morning that the vigilantes told us about 20 people were abducted,” he said.
The attack is coming days after reports suggested that members of the extremist group, Boko Haram, had infiltrated the federal capital.
President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated the national steering committee to oversee the development of the Nigeria Agenda 2050 and Medium-Term National Development Plan to succeed Vision 20:2020 and the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, 2017 – 2020.
Mr Atedo Peterside and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, will jointly chair the committee for the development plan.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, disclosed this in a statement titled “Agenda 2050: President Buhari inaugurates national steering committee, says new development plan will lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2030.”
“The main objectives of these successor plans are to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within the next 10 years, particularly given the World Bank’s projection that Nigeria will become the world’s third most populous country by 2050 with over 400 million people,” the statement quoted Buhari as saying at the inauguration.
Buhari noted that it had become necessary to develop successor plans to the Nigeria Vision 20:2020 and the ERGP, in order to ensure continuity and efficiency in the country’s development planning.
He said the committee would oversee governance structure comprising the central working group and 26 technical working groups for the important national assignment.
Police in Shinyalu, Kakamega County, Kenya have arrested a 16-year-old boy on accusation of killing his 17-year-old neighbour over allegations that the deceased was eyeing his lover, a 14-year-old girl.
The suspect, a Form Two student, fatally stabbed the now-deceased, a Form Three student, in the chest on Monday evening (September 7).
The 16-year-old boy had suspected that his 17-year-old rival was secretly seeing his lover, a Class Eight pupil; and, on Monday evening, he (suspect) went to the deceased’s home in Lutoto Village in Ilesi Location, where a confrontation ensued.
During the melee, the suspect is said to have whipped out a kitchen knife from his pocket and stabbed his love rival in the chest and left arm, killing him on the spot.
Shinyalu Sub-County Deputy Commissioner Moffat Moseti confirmed the incident to K24 Digital.
“The deceased was taken to Kakamega County Teaching and Referral Hospital morgue, whereas the suspect is being held at Shisasari Police Station. We will arraign him in a juvenile court once investigations into the 17-year-old boy’s death are concluded,” said Moseti.
Big Brother Nigeria housemate, Neo has advised his fellow housemate, Ozo against continuously pursuing his love interest, Nengi.
Ozo has continuously made his intentions and feelings known to Nengi who has told him countless times that they cannot be together as couple.
She also told him that she sees him as a brother, and he isn’t the typical guy she would love to date or be in a relationship with.
Ozo has, however, refused to let go, adding that he has never felt this way towards a woman before.
However, Neo while having a discussion with him on Thursday morning told him to let go of Nengi.
He also told him that he should give himself some accolades because he is also good-looking and so many women will jump on the opportunity of being with him outside the house.
He further advised him not to let any woman treat him like trash all in the name of love.
“You are a great guy. If someone is not treating you well, just pack your loads and go. Give yourself some accolades man.
“See how you look with all the sexiness and just stop following someone that will keep treating you as trash.
“Just face your hustle and do your things. A lot of people outside this house will want to be with you,” Neo said.
Police in Kakamega, Kenya have begun investigations into the killing of a 13-year-old girl by thugs on Tuesday, September 8.
The criminals broke into the girl’s house in Shinyakha Village, Ikolomani Constituency in the afternoon, when her mother, who is a widow, was away at work.
The deceased was in the company of her younger sister aged 10 years during the raid.
The thugs, whose number remains unestablished yet, first defiled the sisters, and, thereafter, killed the elder of the two by hacking her in the head using a panga.
The criminals, thereafter, stole a television set, and escaped to an unknown destination.
A manager at the Office of Kakakamega Woman Representative Elsie Muhanda said the criminals had, three years ago, broken into the widow’s house, and raped her (widow).
“One year ago, the same thugs, I believe, again, raided the woman’s house and s.e.xually assaulted her eldest daughter,” said Muhanda’s aide Dan Mukofu.
Police say they have launched a hunt for the suspects.
The body of the 13-year-old girl was taken to a Kakamega hospital morgue.
Policemen attached to the Zonal Investigative Bureau, Zone 2 Command, have been accused of torturing a land agent, Yemi Taiwo, to death for allegedly planning to abduct a monarch in Lagos State.
Punch Metro learnt that Yemi had gone to a site with his friend, Femi Animashaun, in the Isiu community, Ikorodu area of the state on Friday, September 4, 2020, when some vigilante members, known as Onyabo, and some hoodlums arrested them.
It was gathered that the duo were taken to the secretariat of the Ikorodu North Local Council Development Area before the policemen took them to their annexe office in the Ladegboye area Ikorodu, where they were allegedly tortured.
The deceased’s wife, Olabisi, told a Punch correspondent that Yemi and Femi were allegedly rejected upon their transfer to the Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, due to the degree of the injuries they sustained while being tortured.
She stated, “My husband told me that he was going to the site that morning and I was surprised when his younger brother, who stays with us, rushed home around 11am and told me that he heard that his brother had been killed.
“When I heard the news, I was not myself until someone called us later that he was not dead, but was among those arrested for planning to abduct the monarch of Isiu and that he had been taken to the annex office of the Zonal Investigative Bureau.
“When I got to the station on Friday, the Investigating Police Officer, who identified himself as Lati, initially told me that my husband was not at the station, and when I went back on Saturday and Sunday, I was not allowed to see him, but one of his brothers, who went with us, was also detained on Sunday and released on Monday.
“My husband and his friend were brought out of the cell on Tuesday morning and tortured again before they were taken to the Zone 2 headquarters at Onikan. I learnt that when they got there, the superior rejected my husband and his friend when he saw the injuries inflicted on them and he asked the IPO to go and treat them before they could be allowed into the cell.
“It was while they were coming back to their annex office at Ikorodu that my husband died and the IPO said he did not know what to do and he did not want to release the corpse to us. I am appealing to the Inspector-General of Police to come to my aid. Those, who connived with the police to kill my husband, are boasting that they have the support of powerful monarchs and the Lagos State Government. I don’t want my husband to die in vain.”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Zone 2 Command, Hauwa Idris, said she was not aware of the incident.
A Mexican crime reporter Julio Valdivia has been found beheaded, the latest grisly murder of a journalist in the world’s most dangerous nation for newsmen.
The 44 year-old journalist, who specialized in the “nota roja” journalism that focuses on gruesome crime and violence, was beheaded in the violent Gulf Coast state of Veracruz.
His body was found in the remote Tezonapa municipality, about 100 kilometers from the state capital, Veracruz.
A staff member at Valdivia’s Diario El Mundo local newspaper in Veracruz said initially it was suspected that Valdivia might have been run over by a train, but that was ruled out by the prosecutor’s office.
“Valdivia was found near the train tracks, beheaded and tortured,” said the newspaper staff member, who did not wish to be identified.
El Universal and several other local news outlets reported that Valdivia was beheaded, the fourth journalist death in Mexico this year.
In 2019, about half of all murders of journalists around the world occurred in Mexico, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“We condemn the homicide of Julio Valdivia,” the Veracruz government said on its Twitter account.
A local media protection group known as the CEAPP said in a statement that Valdivia did not have extra protection measures as he had not reported facing threats to his security.
But the group demanded the authorities “shed light” on the murder.
FFK has also waded into the debate of if it was right or wrong for APC National leader, Bola Tinubu not to have stood to greet Ooni of Ife when they met at a function.
Writing this morning on twitter, the former minister described it as deeply insulting and a crying shame.
Bandits have kidnapped three children of Zamfara State Sub-treasurer, Alhaji Yusuf Marafa, and also killed his neighbour in Nahuche town in the Bungudu local government area of Zamfara State.
The kidnapped children are Mansur Yusuf, Sa’adu Yusuf and Anas Yusuf, while his neighbour, Malam Kamalu Nahuche, was shot dead.
An indigene of the area, Alhaji Dahiru, told The Punchthat the bandits, who were on motorcycles, came into the town and went straight to the sub-treasurer’s house, where they whisked away the three children.
His neighbour, Kamalu, was reportedly shot dead as he came out of his house.
Dahiru narrated that the bandits had also entered into the house of one Ibrahim Maishago, who is a businessman, in an attempt to kidnap his children.
“But they discovered some large sum of money in the house, which they collected and went away, leaving the children.
The state Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Muhammad Shehu, said armed policemen had already been deployed to the affected area to restore normalcy.
The US says it has revoked the visas of more than 1,000 Chinese students and researchers who have been deemed to be a security risk.
The move follows a proclamation by President Donald Trump in May aimed at Chinese nationals suspected of having ties to the military. He said some had stolen data and intellectual property.
The state department gave no details. China has not commented.
Nearly 370,000 students from China enrolled at US universities in 2018-19.
A state department spokeswoman described those declined a visa as "high-risk graduate students and research scholars."
She said they were a "small subset" of the total number of Chinese students.
"We continue to welcome legitimate students and scholars from China who do not further the Chinese Communist Party's goals of military dominance," the spokeswoman said.
The Imo State University, Owerri, has set up a committee to investigate the authenticity of the footage circulating on the Internet in which the Head of Department of Biochemistry of the institution, Prof. Emmanuel Agumuo, was allegedly having s3x with ones of his students.
The HoD, who was handcuffed in the footage, was arrested by plain-clothed security men.
Sources said the don, apart from allegedly collecting N150,000 as bribe from the female student, also demanded s3x from her in order to pass her.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Punch, “The female student, who is about getting married, had issues with her result after her mates had graduated. She approached her Head of the Department, but he demanded N150,000 bribe, which she paid. The professor also demanded s3x from her.
“The professor rejected the girl’s plea that she was getting married soon. The girl then played along with the aid of security men. The don was arrested n3ked in a room with the girl. Of course, the nude video is all over the Internet.”
Responding to the brewing scandal, the university said that it had set up a committee to investigate the authenticity or otherwise of the video allegedly involving one of its lecturers.
A popular Florida personal injury lawyer was reportedly gunned down by his 35-year-old son, who also shot the attorney’s girlfriend before turning the gun on himself Wednesday morning.
Robert Fenstersheib, well known in South Florida for his catchy commercials promoting his firm, was found dead at his Hollywood home about 9:40 a.m., WSVN reported, citing police and family spokesman Scott Mager.
Mager said Fenstersheib’s son, who battled drug addiction and mental health issues, fatally shot his father and wounded his girlfriend before killing himself.
“Michael lost that battle today,” said Mager, according to the report. “He shot both Robert and his longtime girlfriend Hong Pen and then killed himself using the weapon.
“Drug abuse and mental health issues are so underestimated in today’s life, and so I hope people will reach out and try to help those around them that they can,” he said.
Police didn’t identify the shooting victims or provide much detail, other than confirming two men were found dead and a woman wounded at the home, the report said.
Fenstersheib’s girlfriend was hospitalized in serious but stable condition, according to police and Mager.
The well-known lawyer was described by Mager as “an unbelievable human being, an amazing person, an unbelievable father, [and] a great leader.”
Added Mager: “We lost somebody who was the epitome of greatness. He was the epitome of a human being, and he was my dear friend.”
Top South African human rights lawyer George Bizos, who famously defended Nelson Mandela, has died aged 92.
After representing some of the country's best known political activists during the apartheid years, Mr Bizos became one of the architects of South Africa's new constitution.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced his death, saying Mr Bizos had "contributed immensely to our democracy".
His family said he "died peacefully at home of natural causes".
Leading tributes on Wednesday, President Ramaphosa described Mr Bizos as an "incisive legal mind", and said his death was "very sad for us as a country".
The Nelson Mandela Foundation said "another giant of South African history and of global struggles for justice has fallen."
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has pledged to give 20 cars to deserving teachers across the six education districts in the state.
Sanwo-Olu made the promise on Wednesday during the virtual training of the teachers tagged ”Eko Educators Webinar Performance Series 3.3”.
He said that his administration was committed to rewarding excellent service delivery in Lagos State Post-Primary Teaching Service.
According to him, teachers are key change agents who will be remembered for shaping future generation of leaders.
He urged them to embrace technology in improving the quality of teaching to enhance their productivity.
”This is the era of technology and it is working well for us. Technology has become a very strong tool that we cannot do away with in our everyday lives. With technology, we can think locally and act globally,” Sanwo-Olu said.
United Kingdom’s secretary of state for the home department,Priti Patel,has come under scrutiny over her comments on the $10 billion arbitration fine case between Nigeria and the Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID).
Following last week’s UK court ruling in favour of Nigeria, a current affairs news magazine in Britain published an article on the involvement of Patel in the case.
P&ID had sued Nigeria for allegedly breaching the terms of a gas supply and processing agreement contract it reportedly signed in 2010.
In January 2017, a UK tribunal ordered Nigeria to pay P&ID $6.6 billion as damages, as well as pre- and post-judgment interest, all of which amounted to about $10 billion.
But the country initiated legal proceedings to challenge the ruling, alleging that the contract was fraught with corrupt dealings.
In an article criticising Nigeria for taking step to appeal the arbitral award, Patel had said the country must “shape up and honour its obligations” if it wants to take part in global markets.
“In Nigeria, the unhappy experience of the firm founded by two Irishmen, Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) … demonstrates the risk that businesses will face in Nigeria,”she had written in the City A.M.
She had also accused Nigeria of flouting international law and convention, adding: “Investors must consider this long-running scandal and weigh this obstinance against Nigeria’s mishandled economic potential.”
However, in a turn of events last week, a UK court granted Nigeria an extension of time and relief from sanctions in the $10 billion fine after ruling that it is “necessary to consider a considerable amount of the material to decide firstly, whether, as Nigeria contended, there is a prima facie case of fraud and how strong that case is, and secondly, the steps Nigeria took to investigate the alleged fraud from late 2015.”
According to TheCable yesterday, “Patel was too busy to explain to the Eye how she became involved in this crucial development issue – but her words sit uneasily now given last week’s commercial court ruling in favour of Nigeria,” it wrote.
Vee and Laycon were caught on camera last night busy mocking fellow housemates, Ozo and Nengi.
Vee believes what Ozo and Nengi are parading as a relationship is “bullshit.”
According to her, there was no content in their so-called being around each other during the day while they (Ozo and Nengi) sleep in different beds at night.
Ozo is always following Nengi about in the house, with both housemates usually seen together.
And talking about them last night, Vee began the conversation by saying, “This is bullsh*t that Ozo is doing…”
In response, Laycon said, “They can’t stay away from each other for one hour.”
Vee added, “It’s bullshit.
“They can’t stay away from each other during the day but they still sleep on different beds during the night.” Laycon and Vee burst into laughter.
Thousands of striking nurses on Wednesday called off their strike over pay and protective gear, three months after walking out of public hospital wards, their leader said.
Enock Dongo, president of the 15,000-member Zimbabwe Nurses Association, said they had decided to end the strike to allow the newly-appointed health minister an opportunity to attend to their complaints.
The country’s vice president, retired general Constantino Chiwenga, was last month appointed health minister.
He replaced Obadiah Moyo, who was sacked after being charged with corruption over the illegal awarding of a $20-million contract for coronavirus testing kits and protective gear.
“We have encouraged our members to return to work and give the new minister a chance,” Dongo told AFP.
“He wants us to start negotiating while going to work. We hope he will reciprocate by addressing our grievances,” he said.
The nurses downed tools in June over low pay amid galloping inflation – now hovering over 800 percent – which has eroded wages and salaries as the economy of the southern African country totters.
They also complained about inadequate protection equipment and being forced to recycle surgical face masks.
They were later joined in the strike by senior and junior doctors, who are still not back at work, leaving hospitals thinly staffed in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Big Brother Naija housemates Vee and Nengi, on Wednesday night engaged in an argument.
It all started after Vee blamed Nengi for losing ‘Patricia task’.
According to her, Nengi and Ozo did not concentrate during group tasks, adding that she was fond of taking out time to be with Ozo which led to their team’s loss.
Nengi disagreed with her and got angry about her statement.
Neo and Ozo said it was sarcasm but Nengi didn’t see it that way.
She said: “There are certain things you don’t joke with and it didn’t sound nice to me.
“You are rude and I know that was not a sarcastic joke. It was not nice, nobody wants to fail any task intentionally.
“All she said was unnecessary.”
Vee, however, said she didn’t mean no harm, adding that it was just a sarcastic joke.
Since then both housemates have not spoken to each other.
Members of the University of Calabar chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) protested non-payment of their allowances at the university premises on Wednesday.
Addressing the protesters, the Chairman of the chapter, Dr John Edor, said the allowances had been owed for several years.
“We are demanding full payment of our entitlements from the management of the University of Calabar.
“Some of the entitlements include promotion arrears, fellowship and conference allowances, and other entitlements.
“Some of the arrears have been owed for more than five years, depending on the individual and all efforts to make the management pay the arrears have failed.
“So, we have no option than to embark on a peaceful protest. When this fails to yield the desired results, we will carry our mats and pillows to occupy the University of Calabar. It is our common heritage.’’
Edor accused authorities of the university of being insensitive to the plight of lecturers even in the face of the current face-off with the Federal Government over the IPPIS issue.
“Even when the Federal Government has refused to pay our salaries, the management could not help us.
“We can no longer meet our family obligations. Lecturers are suffering in the midst of plenty,’’ he said.
However, no principal officer of the university was available to listen to the protesting lecturers.
