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Community Alleges NSCDC Providing Aecurity For Illegal Gold Miners Un Edo

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The people of Dangbala community in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo, have alleged that men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) provide security cover for illegal gold miners in the community.

The residents under aegis of Concern Residents of Dangbala, raised the alarm in a statement by Godwin Amusa and Agbaje Saiki, Convener and Secretary respectively.

The residents noted that it has become imperatives to go public on the issue in order to avoid the Zamfara State situation.

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They said that not only have the increased competition created tension in the community, but that their activities have become an issue of security threat in the area.

Spokesman of the community, Mr Collins Nicholas, also made similar illegation in an interview with newsmen in Benin on Thursday.

He alleged that officers of the security outfit provides cover for the illegal miners that have just made a return to the mining site after the Edo Government had placed embargo on the site earlier in the year.

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Nicholas said the miners who work both in the day and night, are able to carry out their illegal activities because they have the full protection of the NSCDC.

Similarly, Nicholas appealed to the concern authority to check activities of these illegal miners before it snowball into what Zamfara State is presently experiencing.

He said angered by the action of the NSCDC some youths who attempted to stop the illegal miners from carrying out their illegal activities against the state government order were mercilessly beaten and injured.

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“On the 13th of August, the same illegal miners arrested by Civil defense were released.

“At a meeting held in the community, we were shocked to see them jubilating that Civil Defense has declared Dangbala bush open and as I speak all kind of people are working there freely without the approval of Edo state government.

” When the kindred that owns the place went to find out what was happening they were attacked and the matter is pending at Igarra Area Command. We have written several petition on this.”

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Meanwhile, the State Command of the NSCDC have denied the allgation and noted that the mining site was still not opened for any activities since its closure by the state government.

READ ALSO:Edo: ‘We Rescue Five Kidnapped Victims, Arrest Robbery Suspect, Recover Stolen Vehicles’ – Police

Spokesman of the command, Mr Efosa Ugbebor, said that the place was still been guided by its officers since its closure.

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“It is not true that our officers are providing cover for illegal miners in Dangbala. Infact, there is no mining activity in that area as we speak.

“Few days ago, precisely on Tuesday, the Command sent anti-vandal and solid mineral team of the NSCDC to the area but they found noting happening there.

“To clear any doubt, we have asked the community people to immediately report to our office should they see anything of such. Perhaps, they can provide any evidence of they have any for us to act on,” he stated.

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Recall that residents of the community had on Tuesday raised the alarm over the return of activities of illegal gold miners.

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Tanzania Protesters Loot Singer Juma Jux Fashion Store

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Tanzanian protesters have reportedly looted singer Juma Jux’s fashion store.

Unrest erupted on Thursday after a disputed general election marked by disqualification and detention of the key opposition figures in Tanzania.

The protesters are demanding cancellation of the election results, alleging irregularities in the country’s presidential election.

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READ ALSO:Police Rescue Suspected Phone Thief From Being Lynched In Delta

Amid the development, a controversial post by an X user Bolaji Fesomade alleged that the singer store valued at $780 million has been set ablaze by protesters.

Reacting to the report, Juma Jux’s wife, Priscilla Ojo on her Snapchat account, dismissed the claims, noting that the store was looted and not burnt.

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She simply wrote; “Looted not Burnt”.

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12 Feared Dead In Kenya Light Aircraft Crash

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A small plane travelling from Kenya’s coast crashed on Tuesday, according to the country’s aviation authority, with the 12 people on board feared dead.

The small plane was en route to Kichwa Tembo — a private airstrip located in the Maasai Mara National Park — from the tourist hotspot of Diani when it came down at around 5:30am local time (0230 GMT).

“The aircraft had 12 persons on board,” a statement from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said.

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It gave no further details, but said that government agencies were already on site to establish the cause of the accident.

READ ALSO:Putin Admits Russia Caused Azerbaijani Plane Crash

The Guardian reports that plane crashes are fairly common in Kenya in the last 18 months. On March 5, 2024, a mid-air collision between a Safarilink Aviation commercial flight and a 99 Flying School training aircraft occurred over the Nairobi National Park, resulting in two fatalities.

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The incident took place shortly after both aircraft had departed Wilson Airport. The collision involved Safarilink Aviation Flight 053, a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 carrying 39 passengers and five crew members, and a 99 Flying School Cessna 172M.

AMREF Aircraft Crash

In August, a light aircraft belonging to the AMREF Flying Doctors crashed into a residential area in Mwihoko, Ruiru, Kiambu County, killing six people and injuring at least two others.

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The aircraft, a Cessna Citation XLS (registration 5Y-FDM), had taken off from Wilson Airport and was en route to Hargeisa, Somalia, when it went down under unclear circumstances.

READ ALSO:Fire On Board Forces Lagos-Atlanta-bound Aircraft Diversion To Ghana

AMREF Flying Doctors CEO Stephen Gitau issued a statement confirming the incident. Mr Gitau noted that the aircraft departed Wilson Airport at 2.17 PM before crashing in Mwihoko. He stated that the organisation is “cooperating fully with relevant aviation authorities and emergency response teams to establish the facts surrounding the situation.”

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Foreign Couple Killed in Kenyan Plane Crash, Earlier in January, a light aircraft crash killed a foreign couple aboard. The accident involved a Cessna 185 aircraft that departed from Nairobi and was en route to Mbaruk in Nakuru County. It went down in the lakeside town of Naivasha at approximately 5:14 p.m. local time (1414 GMT).

At the time, Naivasha Police Deputy Chief Charles Mwai suggested that poor visibility due to fog in the area might have been a contributing factor. Aviation experts have been called to the scene to conduct an investigation.

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UK Police Arrest Asylum Seeker Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed

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The UK police on Sunday arrested an Ethiopian asylum seeker and convicted sex offender, whose crimes had sparked anti-immigration protests, after he was accidentally released from prison in an embarrassing blunder by British authorities.

London’s Metropolitan Police said officers arrested Hadush Kebatu in the north of the capital on Sunday morning, nearly 48 hours after he was mistakenly freed around 30 miles (48 kilometres) away.

Kebatu, 38, had served the first month of a one-year sentence for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman, but was reportedly due to be deported when the Prison Service error occurred on Friday.

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His high-profile case earlier this year in Epping, northeast of London, sparked demonstrations in various English towns and cities where asylum seekers were believed to be housed, as well as counter-protests.

READ ALSO:UK Police Hunt Asylum Seeker Mistakenly Freed For Sex Offence

Commander James Conway, who oversaw the manhunt for him, said “information from the public” led officers to the Finsbury Park neighbourhood of London, where he was found.

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He was detained by police but will be returned to the custody of the Prison Service,” he added.

Kebatu is now expected to be deported.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday he was “appalled” by the “totally unacceptable” mistake that saw him freed rather than sent to an immigration detention centre.

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The Telegraph newspaper said he was wrongly categorised for release on licence and handed a £76 ($101) discharge grant.

READ ALSO:Alleged Misappropriation: MFM Accuses UK Agency Of Discrimination

Police had appealed Saturday for Kebatu to turn himself in, after reports emerged that he had appeared confused and reluctant to leave the prison in Chelmsford, eastern England.

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A delivery driver described seeing Kebatu return several times in a “very confused” state, only to be turned away by staff and directed to the railway station.

The driver told Sky News he saw Kebatu outside the jail, asking, “Where am I going? What am I doing?”

He was starting to get upset, he was getting stressed,” the driver said.

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READ ALSO:UK Is A Home, Not Hotel, Kemi Badenoch Tells Immigrants, Starmer’s Govt

The father of Kebatu’s anonymous teenage victim told the broadcaster that “the justice system has let us down.”

Police arrested the asylum seeker in July after he repeatedly tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl and touch her legs, and made sexually explicit comments to her.

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He also sexually assaulted an adult woman, placing a hand on her thigh, when she intervened to stop his interactions with the girl.

He was staying at the time at Epping’s Bell Hotel, where scores of other asylum seekers have been accommodated, and which became the target of repeated protests.

AFP

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