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Military Under Fire As Bandits Deploy Helicopter, Kill 32 In Southern Kaduna

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Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has carpeted the Defence Headquarters over its failure to deploy the 12 newly acquired Super Tucano aircraft in the North-West seven months after a Federal High Court designated bandits as terrorists.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, slammed the military hierarchy especially the Nigerian Air Force for its tardiness in dealing with terrorists terrorising the North-West.

The group said while the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Air Force are condoning the heinous killings by bandits, the marauders, now emboldened by the inaction of the government, have moved on to allegedly deploy sophisticated weapons including an attack helicopter.

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According to reports, terrorists in a helicopter attacked residents of the Adara community in the southern part of Kaduna State on Sunday and killed over 30 persons.

The National President of Adara Development Association, Awemi Maisamari, said the carnage was allegedly carried out by Fulani terrorists who aside from shooting sporadically from the helicopter, were aided by assailants on the ground who came on 150 motorcycles carrying three armed persons each.

READ ALSO: Abductors Of Abuja-Kaduna Train Passengers Issue Fresh Ultimatum

“The death toll this morning (Wednesday) is 32, as villagers comb surrounding bushes for more bodies. Seven were found this morning decomposing,” he said, adding that an Evangelical Church Winning All in the area was destroyed.

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Reacting, HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “The killing of scores in Adara in southern Kaduna is unfortunate and totally avoidable if the military doesn’t ignore intelligence and telltale signs.”

HURIWA sympathised with the bereaved and prayed for their consolation and comfort.

“However, it is important to note that this new dimension of a helicopter being used by Fulani terrorists is shocking but not unexpected as there have been bold signs written all over the place going by the chronology of the sophisticated terrorism that banditry by Fulani bloodletters has evolved into.

“It is ironic that the terrorists are now operating on air, shelling houses and killing innocent residents when the military who should decimate the terrorist bandits through air raids have failed to bombard them for reason best known to them.

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“Even the Kaduna State Governor indicted the military for failing to act on intelligence regarding the precise locations of these Fulani terrorists even when the military is monitoring their telephone conversations and now they are on the air. Who gave them the helicopters?

“Earlier in February 2021, a controversial Islamic cleric and bandit-sympathiser, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, disclosed that bandits operating in the northern states forests are planning to acquire anti-aircraft missiles to repeal attacks by the military. He said, ‘They (bandits) are now trying to buy missiles, anti-aircraft missiles. This is already developing into a full-blown insurgency

“In March 2022, terrorists bombed a moving Abuja-Kaduna train and killed scores while others were kidnapped. On July 18, 2021, bandits shot down a Nigerian Air Force fighter jet on the border between Zamfara and Katsina states.

“Yet, the military and the sleeping regime of President Muhammadu Buhari have gone on full somnolence and failed to treat the mass killers of innocent citizens as they are supposed to be treated despite that they have killed thousands of innocent souls in Kaduna in the last one year.”

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HURIWA recalled that a frustrated Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, in March, after the train attack, accused the military of knowing the location of the bandits wreaking havoc in the state but was refusing to bomb their hideouts.

READ ALSO: JUST IN: Councilor Arrested With AK-47 Near Kidnapers’ Den In Kaduna

Commenting further, HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “The dastard killing by Fulani terrorists who operated from a helicopter in Adara was aided by the conspiracies of inactions by President Muhammadu Buhari who did not also take action against Fulani terrorists that shot down a military jet in Zamfara despite a court declaration that the bandits are terrorists.

“The rampaging mass murderers have declared full war on the Nigerian state yet the military and the government are docile as they are wont.

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“Last Sunday, the insurgents stormed a Catholic church in Owo, Ondo State and killed over 40 innocent worshippers in an unprovoked attack. Yet, the President and his cabal keep treating Fulani terrorists as sacred cows that should not be touched.

“With the Owo genocide and the Adara mass killing, HURIWA calls on the Defence Headquarters to swiftly deploy the 12 Super Tucano fighter jets on the bandits terrorising the Nigerian state. The court has already declared them as terrorists and they fit into the United States’ categorization as those to suffer from the heat of the fighter jets.

“Then, why the delayed almost eight months after? Isn’t this complicit that the military doesn’t want to deal with the criminal and mindless terrorists as el-Rufai noted in his March outburst? Should all Nigerians be slain because the President is Fulani as the killer bandits? Enough!”

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Viral Video: “Please Stop Crying,” Soldiers In Tears After Losing Colleagues To Terrorists

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In a now-viral video posted on X on Tuesday, soldiers of the Nigerian army were seen crying, seemingly after losing some of their colleagues to terrorist attacks.

The video posted by #X-Daily has become viral after X users have sympathised with the soldiers.

Although it is unsure of when the video was made or the actual cause of why the soldiers were crying, Nigeria has been faced with terrorist attacks for over two decades.

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The post read, “Nigerian Soldiers in tears after losing their colleagues in Terrorist attack in Northern Nigeria.”

READ ALSO: Military Declares Nigerien Terrorist Wanted For Zamfara Killings

As seen in the video, soldiers are seen weeping while someone, presumably the one holding the camera, is comforting the soldiers and is heard telling them to stop crying.

“Stop crying please, stop crying,” the voice said.

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“I tell you guys since morning, my mind no dey here, I no tell you?” he questioned in pidgin English.

Reacting, #Game_Boss360 wrote, “Those soldiers are really suffering out there.”

READ ALSO: Anambra: Three Ex-police Officers Bag Life Imprisonment For Murder

Another user, #calebuncovered, said, “This is why whenever I see civilians bashing soldiers on social media, it pains me deeply. As someone who grew up in the barracks, you have no idea what these guys do to protect this country. You have no idea how far they go to protect this country. They’re literally living a life of uncertainty because death can come anytime, and they would leave their family behind. Yet, some of you still come here and spew rubbish about soldiers.”

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Meanwhile, #chrisndarl said, “This video hurts in so many ways ….so many ways man.”

A 2024 PUNCH report noted that Nigeria is grossly insecure. Under Muhammadu Buhari (2015-2023), 63,111 Nigerians died in violence, SBM Intelligence stated.

“Nigeria was ranked the eighth most terrorised country in the world by the 2023 Global Terrorism Index.

“This has contributed to the shortfall in food production and the upswing in food inflation as Nigeria’s food basket regions are plagued with gnawing terrorism and insecurity,” the report stated.

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Traditional Ruler, Two Others Killed In Bloody Benue Land Dispute

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A protracted land dispute between the people of Okete in Ohimini Local Government Area, LGA, of Benue state and the neighbouring community of Otukpo-Nobi in Otukpo LGA over the ownership of

Amla-Icho community land has claimed the lives of a traditional ruler and two others in the feuding communities.

It was gathered that the age long dispute was triggered last week when the Chairman of Otukpo LGA, Alfred Omakwu allegedly sent a bulldozer to the disputed land to enable him commence work on the creation of a layout in the area.

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The presence of the earth moving equipment angered the people of Okete who moved to stop the destruction of the cultivated land.

In his account on the incident, the Chairman of Otukpo LGA said “the problem is that the Okete people lost it. It is a dispute between Amla in Otukpo and Okete in Ohimini LGA and a total of three people lost their lives in the crisis.

READ ALSO: Troops Eliminate Shekau’s Top Ally, Tahir Baga In Sambisa Forest Troops

“What happened was that they (the Okete people) used to go and farm in Amla land but sometimes last year when we wanted to develop a layout there, the Okete people went to report to the Och’Idoma that their farm produce were there and the Och’Idoma directed that no layout should be done until they harvest their products.

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“February this year, they harvested their produce and the Och’Idoma called them and informed them that by March this year, Otukpo would go ahead with their layout and that they should not farm there again.

“But when the bulldozers returned they said they had farmed there already and reported the matter to their Second Class Chief as well as their LGA Chairman who called me and I told them that the Och’Idoma asked them not to farm there again because of the layouts.

“So when the bulldozer went there on Friday, they came with their lawyer who called me and I told him everything and said if they want to go to court, it was their right.

“They demanded that the bulldozer stopped work but their lawyer advised that they should wait for him to get an injunction from the court but they said they could not wait.

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READ ALSO: NIMC Warns Against Fake NIN Number

“They then went to the First class chief of Otukpo/Ohimini who called Och’Idoma and the Och’Idoma said they should not stop the people doing the layout because he asked them not to farm their again.

“At that point they went there and opened fire on the people; they killed one and shot two people and burnt all their motorbikes about 10 of them.

“Then Otukpo retaliated the next day; they also burnt some houses and killed one person and killed another person in Amla making two.

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“But we have maintained calm. The Police Commissioner summoned all of us for a peace meeting so we are restoring peace now among both parties. We have agreed that all the culprits will be arrested and brought to book.”

Countering his Otukpo counterpart, the Ohimini LG Chairman, Samson Okoh who also acknowledged that the dispute was over land said “there is a place called Amla, it’s close to Okete. The Otukpo Chairman took the bulldozers to the place where the Okete people used to farm for years and according to him he wanted to do a layout. So he went and destroyed their farm crops.

READ ALSO: ‘You’re Guilty’ – Judge Roars, Jailed UK-based Nigerian Pastor, Wife 34 Years For Raping, Assaulting Members

“When the Okete people demanded an explanation, the Amla people said the land does not belong to the Okete people but to the Amla people.

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“According to what I was told, when the argument ensued somehow one of them from Otukpo pulled the trigger and shot but the bullet mistakenly hit a fellow Otukpo person.

“Then on Saturday night the Amla people went and reinforced and barricaded the Okete people, burnt houses, beat up ans killed one boy. And on Sunday around 10am when I went to take the boy they killed to the mortuary, the Alma people went to the place again and burnt 17 houses, burnt motorcycles, slaughtered a Clan Head Chief Sunday Okpe, and shot five other persons who we took to the Teaching Hospital in Otukpo for treatment.”

The Chairman who informed that the community had been deserted said the parties had been summoned by the Police Commissioner over the matter and that efforts were on to apprehend the masterminds of the crisis.

On whether the Paramount ruler of Idoma land, Och’Idoma Agaba-Idu John Odogbo asked his people not to farm on the said land again, the Chairman said, “I am not aware of that but the Otukpo Chairman claimed so. I was not told by the Och’Idoma to tell the people not to farm there.

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“Moreover, the Och’Idoma cannot tell the people to stop farming where they have been farming for several years without compensation or settlement and you just take the bulldozer to destroy their crops on the hectares of land they eke a living from.”

Contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent, SP, Catherine Anene who confirmed the development said the command received the report of one death though she was awaiting full details of the incident.

 

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Troops Eliminate Shekau’s Top Ally, Tahir Baga In Sambisa Forest Troops

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The troops of Theatre Command, North East, ‘Operation Hadin Kai’ have successfully killed a top commander of the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād, otherwise known as Boko Haram, TAHIR BAGA.

This great feet was achieved following continuation of troops’ major offensive at terrorists enclaves in Sambisa Forest.

Sources revealed that Tahir was neutralized on May 13, 2024 when the troops unleashing the major operation codenamed: Operation Desert Sanity III, moved down terrorists’ enclaves of Shababul Umma, Garin Panel Beater and Lagara Anguwan Gwaigwai right at the heart of the forest.

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READ ALSO: Truck Crushes Five-year-old Girl In Lagos

Intelligence sources and Zagazola Makama, a Counter Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad region also confirmed the incident to our Correspondent on Tuesday.

It was gathered that, in the course of the offensive, contact was made with the terrorists which led to the defeat of the terrorist top commander as well as some of his lieutenant while several others escaped with gunshots wounds.

Tahir Baga, was a close Ally to Abubakar Shekau. He was among the first sets who founded the Boko Haram movement in Maiduguri before moving into Sambisa Forest with likes of Mamman Nur, Khalid Albarnawi, Abubakar Shekau, Kaka Ali, Mustapha Chad, Abu Maryam and Abu Krimima.

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READ ALSO: Three Suspects Connected To Series Of Kidnappings In Delta Arrested

“Tahir Baga was a revered Imam who was respected among the Sect group. He had on several basis truncated efforts of many fighters and their families to surrender and has also pushed many under aged girls to go on suicide bombing after convincing that they will be granted paradise as everlasting reward.” The source said.

The killing of Tahir Baga, is a major blow to the Boko Haram terrorists groups.

Another source said that “the neutralizing and sacking of terrorist communities, also led to the rescue of 14 persons comprising 4 women and 10 children from the terrorists captivity.

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“The troops the firepower of the rampaging troops, fled in different directions, abandoning their weapons and other equipment.

“Among such weapons were a heap of bomb-making materials; 1 RPG 7 tube; Pkm 1X Rpg 7 tube, 1X ak47 rifle, 1 RPG Bomb, 1X RPG 7 Charger quantities of 97X 7.62MM Nato, quantities of 99X7.62 MMX 51MM, quantities 554X7.62 MM X 54 MM, 5, MCs, 2 bicycles, 3 mobile phones 11 magazines, 3 hand grenades 2 bandolier, one starlink WiFi system, 1 lithium inverter batteries of 100 AH, 1 solar inverter of 200 AH, 1 hand held patrol radio among others items were found in the terrorists enclaves.”

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