Metro

Kaduna Massacre Survivors Narrate Ordeal

Published

3 years ago

June 13, 2022

Victims of the attack on Adara communities in the Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State have recounted their experience after some of them were relocated to an Internally Displaced Persons camp and other safe communities.

Recall the attack on three communities in Kajuru killed 35 natives and many others sustained injuries.

However, after the attack, accusations and counter-accusations arose with natives alleging that the terrorists were aided by their criminal counterparts using a helicopter. The state government has since dismissed the claim, saying the helicopter was used by the Nigerian Air Force to dispel the bandits.

Survivors of the attack, in an interview with DAILY POST, when they came for a Save-Our-Soul (SOS) visit to the President of Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), Hon. Asake at the National Secretariat, expressed shock over the state government’s denial of the terrorists using a helicopter.

The villagers, who were led by Rev. Denis Sani, of 1st ECWA Church, Maikori during a visit to SOKAPU president, said they came to SOKAPU to seek assistance for their starving communities and to brief the President of SOKAPU on the tragedy that befell their communities.

“It was around 12 noon while we were in church that we started getting information that armed Fulani herdsmen were attacking Dangoma and some nearby villages,” said Rev. Sani before television cameras.

“We hastily rounded up our prayers and came out. We then heard that they were in large numbers and that they were heading towards Maikori.

“We then called out for reinforcement and all the youths came out and we laid ambush waiting for them. We evacuated our women, children, and old ones into hiding. In no time we saw them.

“They were in large numbers on scores of motorcycles each carrying three turban herdsmen who all had AK-47 rifles.”

According to Rev Sani, when the herdsman were getting close to them, they fired their den guns at the invaders.

“Upon hearing our gunshots. The leaders of the armed herdsmen raised his left hand and came to an abrupt halt. The rest also stopped,” he said.

He said that they dismounted from the bikes and started responding but since they were already under cover they had an upper hand and that the killer herdsmen started retreating.

“From nowhere we saw a helicopter coming over towards Maikori, and we were happy that help had come,” he said.

He said that they were shocked to discover that the helicopter, which he said was white painted, started firing in their direction, even when the motorcycles of the assailants, their positions and mode of dressing, marked them out clearly.

“I saw my people running for dear lives and some were falling. I also ran. It was not possible to face the armed Fulani and the bullets from the helicopter, so we ran for our lives,” he said.

He narrated further that upon escaping, the herdsmen entered Maikori and started burning homes.

“As they were burning houses, the helicopter was hovering over the village to defend them from our returning.

“They took three good hours burning every structure in Maikori, except three or four houses that do not have any valuables.

“My church, 1st ECWA Church Maikori, was burnt to ashes. My house and everything I ever worked for went with the flames. I only came out with what I am now wearing.

“As of now, I cannot tell you exactly how many people were killed from that attack, because we are still picking corpses in the bushes. But 32 persons have been killed and buried. Other villages that were attacked earlier that day by the same killers are Sabon Gida, Unguwan Sarki and Dogon Noma,” he said.

According to him, the ECWA church in Dogon Noma was also burnt with some other houses.

“The Helicopter did not hide its intention that it came to kill us and to help the armed Fulani to achieve what they wanted to do.

“We are therefore here to beg for any form of assistance, especially food and clothing. And we want you to help us inform the world what has happened to us,” he said as he produced a bullet he claimed came from the gunshot from the helicopter.

Johna Chris, the 52-year-old youth leader of the Maikori village, was also on the team that visited the SOKAPU president. He also confirmed what Rev Sani said.

“When we started shooting at the bandits with our den guns, they seemed to be taken by surprise that there was some form of resistance. Even when they were firing back at us, we noticed that they were going backward. We were ready to defend our village with the last drop of our blood and we had the upper hand against those devils.

“Then this white painted helicopter came from the sky. Instead of attacking the criminals, it is us that it started shooting at.

“The bullets were coming from the bottom of the helicopter straight at us. At first, I thought it was a mistake, but it circled back, saw the position of the enemy, left them alone and started raining bullets at us and into our village. When I saw people running and falling, I also ran into the bush,” he said.

The President of Adara Development Association (ADA), Mr Dio Maisamari, who is also the 1st Vice President of SOKAPU said that it was clear that both the Federal Government and Kaduna State Government had abandoned Adara and other besieged Southern Kaduna communities to their fate.

Rifkatu James, a 20-year-old student of Government Day Secondary School, Jabi, Abuja, was at home in Maikori village for a brief visit when she was caught in the attack.

She narrated her experience:

“We finished church service in a hurry because people were saying that Fulani were on their way to come and attack us in Maikori.

“We took the children, our mothers, and old people into the bush to go and hide. Our men started to shoot at the Fulani who were coming on hundreds of motorcycles to attack us. And they also started shooting our people,” she said.

She added: “I think we were winning because the Fulani were trying to run away. Then I saw a helicopter coming from behind us. It then started shooting our men. I saw them running, some were falling down. I also ran very fast into the bush with others. The Fulani chased us and came into Maikori.”

DAILY POST

Metro

Police Arrest Siblings Over Communal Clash In Ondo

Published

58 minutes ago

September 14, 2025

Editor

Ondo State Police Command has arrested two brothers, Ogunsemore Gbadebo and Michael Ogunsemore for their allegedly involvement in a violent communal clash that occurred in Eki/Oboto Community of Ilaje local government area of the State.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the suspects had been locked in a prolonged land dispute with the monarch of the community, Oba Oyetayo Ofoaye of Aboto.

According to the. state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Olusola Ayanlade, the matter was first taken to the Okitipupa High Court, which ruled in favour of the monarch.

However, not satisfied with the verdict, the siblings filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Akure, where the appellate court again upheld the Oba’s position.

The PPRO alleged that the brothers resorted to self-help thereafter, recruiting armed thugs to unleash violence on the community rather than accepting the judgement of the Appeal Court.

It was learnt that the attack reportedly perpetrated by the suspects and their gangs, displaced residents, destroyed huts, palm produce, and other valuables, while one Jeremiah Okuntimehin sustained machete injuries in the fracas.

“This criminal escalation turned a civil dispute into a grave security threat, prompting swift police intervention,” the PPRO said.

According to the police spokesman, the police launched a coordinated operation that led to the arrest of the brothers – Gbadebo and Michael, who have since been arraigned in court.

He added that efforts were ongoing to track down other fleeing members of the group who took part in the unrest.

Ayanlade stressed that the arrests marked a decisive step in restoring peace to the affected community, warning that communal violence will not be condoned under any guise.

Commissioner of Police in the State, CP Adebowale Lawal cautioned individuals and groups against undermining judicial decisions or taking the law into their own hands, warning that such acts would attract the full weight of the law.

He assured residents of Eki/Oboto and Aboto of adequate police presence and urged them to remain calm, law-abiding, and cooperative with security agencies.

The CP also emphasised that dialogue and peaceful engagement remained the only sustainable means of resolving communal disputes.

Metro

Foreign Currency Found On Beggars As 40 Evacuated In Kwara

Published

1 hour ago

September 14, 2025

Editor

The Kwara State government has again evacuated another set of 40 beggars from the street of Ilorin, the state capital.

The evacuation of beggars was carried out by the officials of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Development in collaboration with operatives of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS), Kwara State Command.

During a search conducted on the beggars, a foreign currency (US dollar) was found on one of them, Musa Mahmuda, who claimed to be from Kano State.

A sharp knife was found in the possession of another beggar.

Seven of the evacuees were second term offenders, having been arrested during a previous evacuation excercise but they returned to the streets again.

The operation was conducted at Tipper Garage in Tanke, Offa garage and Garin Alimi areas – all in Ilorin metropolis.

The Commissioner for social Welfare and Development, Dr Mariam Imam, expressed delight that the excercise was yielding the desired results, saying the number of those evacuated from the streets in the latest exercise has “dratically reduced from 94 arrested during the last time to 40”.

She said the ministry’s evacuation team was changing its “strategy as the beggars too were changing their tactics and locations to evade being evacuated from the streets.”

She implored those patronising the beggars to stop doing so and channel their offerings through religious organisations, orphanages and places of worship, reiterating that street begging has been outlawed in the state.

The head, Non-custodian Centre, Nigerian Correctional Services, Kwara State Command, Adebayo Okunola, said the appropriate punitive measures will be meted out to the arrested beggars to serve as deterrence to them and others.

“We will make sure that they clean the streets, they will sweep the streets so that they will know that there is dignity in labour,” he stated.

Metro

NDLEA Arrests Indian Businessman, 3 Others Over Alleged Trafficking Of N3.9bn Tramadol

Published

2 hours ago

September 14, 2025

Editor

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an Indian businessman, Gupta Ravi Kumar, alongside three Nigerian accomplices in connection with the seizure of 2,248,000 pills of tramadol 200mg/225mg.

Kumar was apprehended alongside Ogunlana Noah Olanrewaju, Olushola Idrees Kayode and Bakare Korede Muheeb at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos.

The tramadol shipment worth N3,990,000,000 in street value was imported from Delhi, India, disguised as multi-vitamins in 114 cartons and arrived the import shed of the Lagos airport on an Ethiopian Airline flight on Monday 8th September 2025.

NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi said a team of NDLEA officers who had put the consignment under surveillance, swooped on a clearing agent and two drivers who were trying to move the shipment out of the airport in two trucks on Thursday, September 11th.

Babafemi said a follow-up operation the following day, Friday, led to the arrest of the Kumar, when he was trying to take delivery of the consignment.

At the Terminal 2 departure of the airport, NDLEA operatives on Sunday, September 7, intercepted a passenger Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi while travelling on a Qatar Airline flight to Doha.

“A search of his bag led to the recovery of 900grams of skunk, a strain of cannabis concealed in crayfish. As a first-time traveler, Onyeganochi claimed the bag was given to him to help take to Doha by a Qatar-based Nigerian Ohaodiegwu Anthony Uchenna who actually followed him to the airport.

“His confession led to the arrest of Uchenna who was still within view. Operatives who later conducted a search of Uchenna’s hotel room in Ajao Estate discovered additional 200grams of the same psychoactive substance.

“He claimed he was to return to Doha days later and pick the bag from the unsuspecting Onyeganochi if he had succeeded in escaping security checks,” the NDLEA said.

Meanwhile, at the Tincan Port in Lagos, a total of 161 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 81.7kg and 1.2kg hashish oil were recovered from a 40ft container of vehicle spare parts and used vehicles imported from Montreal Canada during a joint examination of the shipment on Tuesday 9th September.

Two suspects including John Ochigbo, 53, and Okeke Kingsley, 26, were arrested in connection with the seizure.

Another shipment of Canadian Loud with a total weight of 65kg was tracked from the port to Third Mainland bridge where NDLEA operatives intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle conveying the consignment, recovered it and arrested the driver Abubakar Ibrahim, 42 on Thursday 11th September.

Two separate shipments of methamphetamine concealed in picture frame and Loud, hidden in video players were seized at two courier companies in Lagos on Monday 8th and Thursday 11th September respectively by NDLEA operatives.