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Five members of the Benue State House of Assembly have escaped the attack from suspected armed herders who had laid an ambush on them.

Our correspondent gathered that the incident happened on Thursday at about 10 pm at Tyomu in Gwer Local Government Area of the state.

It was gathered that the gunmen who took over the Gboko/Makurdi highway shot indiscriminately at motorists who plied the road at that particular hour.

The assembly members were said to be returning from an oversight function in Katsina-Ala LGA before they were attacked.

The affected members attacked include the Majority Leader,  Saater Tiseer, Chief Whip, Ipusu Bemdoo, Samuel Jiji of Logo State Constituency,  Simon Gabo of Mata State Constituency, and  Cephas Dyaku.

Confirming the incident on Friday, Chairman House Committee on Information and Orientation, Elias Audu said, “Recalled that yesterday (Thursday) 23, May 2024 by 10 pm  honourable members of 10th Benue State House of Assembly were returning from Katsina-Ala after a public hearing on a bill for a law to provide for the establishment of Benue State Civil Protection Guards and purposes connected therewith

“Suspected herders numbering more than forty on motorcycles ambushed them  at Tyomu and shot severally at the vehicles conveying members.”

He expressed the concern of the  Speaker, Aondona Dajoh over the constant attacks on innocent people of the state and the latest attack on members of the assembly on a day of public hearing on a security bill.

The house however called on security agents to immediately arrest the attackers and bring them to justice.

Efforts to get the reaction of the state command spokesperson, Catherine Anene were not successful as her phone rang out.

Source: Punch

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei assigned vice president Mohammad Mokhber to assume interim duties after the death of president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash a day earlier.

“In accordance with Article 131 of the constitution, Mokhber is in charge of leading the executive branch,” said Khamenei in a statement, adding that Mokhber will be required to work with the heads of legislative and judicial to prepare for presidential elections “within a maximum period of 50 days”.

Source: Channels

Three people have been reported killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DR Congo) capital following a shootout between armed men in military uniform and guards of a top politician, an incident the army described as an attempted coup.

Two police officers and one of the attackers were among those killed in the shootout that started early on Sunday.

The armed men attacked the Kinshasa residence of Vital Kamerhe, a federal legislator and a candidate for speaker of the National Assembly of DR Congo, but were stopped by his guards, Kamerhe’s spokesman Michel Moto Muhima said on social media.

“The Honorable Vital Kamerhe and his family are safe and sound,” the spokesman wrote on X.

A DR Congo military spokesman said in a televised address that the perpetrators of the failed takeover had been arrested.

Brigadier General Sylvain Ekenge told reporters the attempted coup was “nipped in the bud by Congolese defence and security forces [and] the situation is under control”.

The army said the group of people behind the attempted coup were mostly foreigners or Congolese citizens based abroad, Al Jazeera’s Alain Uaykani reported. Uaykani added that the army also said some of the suspects held US and Canadian passports.

“There is no link between these people and the local army or members of security forces in Kinshasa,” Uaykani said.

Still, he added, the attack raised concerns among the local population on how the perpetrators succeeded in entering a highly protected place and attacked a high-profile member of the government.

Local media first identified the armed men as Congolese soldiers, but then reported they were linked to self-exiled opposition leader Christian Malanga, who appeared in a live-streamed video surrounded by several people in military uniform.

“Felix, you’re out. We are coming for you,” Malanga said, referring to President Felix Tshisekedi.

Footage, seemingly from the area, showed military trucks and heavily armed men parading deserted streets in the neighbourhood.

The incident came amid a crisis gripping Tshisekedi’s governing party over an election for the parliament’s leadership which was supposed to be held on Saturday but was postponed.

On Friday, Tshisekedi met with parliamentarians and leaders of the Sacred Union of the Nation ruling coalition in an attempt to resolve the crisis amid his party which dominates the national assembly.

He said he would not “hesitate to dissolve the National Assembly and send everyone to new elections if these bad practices persist”.

Tshisekedi was re-elected as president in December in a chaotic vote amid calls for a revote from the opposition over what they said was a lack of transparency, following past trends of disputed elections in the central African country.

The embassy of the United States in DR Congo issued a security alert, urging caution after “reports of gunfire”.

Source: Aljazeera

Two persons were killed while seven others were abducted in an attack on Ikachi Village in Akparata area of Effium in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, the police have confirmed

The spokesperson for Ebonyi Police Command, DSP Joshua Ukandu, who confirmed the incident added that the assailants also destroyed property worth millions of naira in the area on Sunday.

He added that the police have been working with other security agencies to restore peace into the area and to also ascertain the cause of the latest flare-up of communal clashes in the area.

Ezza and Effium communities have been enmeshed in deadly clashes since 2021.

“We are aware of the attack and the command is on top of the situation.

“We have been working with other security agencies to ensure that peace returned to the area.

“The command is also investigating the attack to ascertain the root cause of the matter,” Ukandu said.

The police spokesman said that officers and men of the command were committed to the protection of lives and property in Ebonyi.

Source: Punch

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have reportedly kidnapped a woman, Adebisi Adebayo, in the Erewon area of Ijebu Ode Local Government Area of Ogun State.

PUNCH Metro gathered from a police source that the incident happened on Friday evening when the victim, alongside some family members, was returning to their home from the market in the said area.

Our correspondent learnt further that upon arriving at their gate, the armed men, who were numbering about four, approached them, dragged the other members of the family out of the vehicle, and absconded with the woman.

The source said, “Adebisi, her mother-in-law, and two small children were returning home from the market at New Market Ijebu Ode around 8 pm on Friday, and as they reached their home gate, four armed individuals, believed to be kidnappers, approached them.

“They were accompanied by others in a white Highlander Jeep with registration number BDG 125 HZ. Adebisi was taken to an unknown location while the family was dragged out of the jeep.”

The command’s Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, who confirmed the incident to our correspondent in a telephone interview on Sunday, noted that a rescue mission had been launched for the victim.

She added, “Upon receiving this information, the tactical team of the command visited the scene. The CP, Abiodun Alamutu, has directed a manhunt for the suspects and a safe rescue of the victim.”

Meanwhile, in another incident, the Ogun State Police Command said it arrested one suspected member of the Eiye confraternity in the Itori area of Ewekoro Local Government Area of the state on Friday.

According to Odutola, the suspect was arrested following reports that there were sounds of gunshots within the vicinity of the state-owned D.S. Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic.

The police, upon receiving the report, mobilised its officers to the scene of the shooting where the suspect was apprehended.

Odutola identified the suspect as one Oluwafemi Johnson, who claimed to be a resident of Badagry in Lagos State.

She said, “The Divisional Police Officer in Ewekoro received information via phone call that individuals believed to be cultists were firing gunshots within D.S. Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic, Itori. Upon receiving this tip-off, the DPO led the police patrol team to the location.

“One suspect, identified as Oluwafemi Johnson from Badagry, Lagos State, was arrested while hiding in a bush near Afowowa across from the polytechnic.”

She added that the suspect confessed to being a member of the Eiye Confraternity during interrogation while adding that a discreet investigation had commenced into the matter.

“During questioning, the suspect confessed to being affiliated with the Eiye cult group. The case has been transferred to the SCID for a discreet investigation,” Odutola concluded.

Source: Punch

Operatives of the Edo State Police Command have arrested eight suspects over the alleged stealing of transformers, 12 tyres and a truck in Edo State.

The suspects, Frances Okafor, Okorie Ekene Onyedika,  Lazarus Ifeanyi, 36,  Nnamdi Osita, 43, Celestial Eze 47,  Lucky Nwosu, 44, Obidiwe Ekene, 43 and Uche Onu, 22 were alleged to have stolen two electrical transformers and other items at Evbuomoma Community, Benin City.

The state Police Commissioner, Funsho Adegboye, said one Collins Oboh Osamuyimen petitioned the police that unknown armed men invaded Colosa Concrete Pole Company located in Evbuomoma Community, Benin, tied the security guards and stole two electrical transformers, one long Scania truck and 12 tyres to an unknown destination.

He said the investigation led to the arrest of Lazarus Ifeanyi, in Onitsha in Anambra State who confessed that he bought the stolen truck from one Okorie Ekene Onyedika who specialises in butchering stolen trucks and other vehicles for sale.

He said the suspect also confessed that he bought the newly branded Scania trucks with 12 tyres capacity from One Frances Okafor and mentioned four other members of his gang who were also arrested in the Onitsha axis of Anambra State.

He said the suspects also confessed to being a notorious armed robbery gang that robbed empty gas cylinders in Akure, Ondo State, but offloaded the items at Iyana Ipaja, Lagos by their gang leader, Frances Okafor’s brother who owns a shop at the place in Lagos.

He added that the suspects were preparing for another robbery in Imo State before their arrest.

Adegboye said the suspects would be charged to court soon.

Source: Daily Trust

Troops of the Nigerian Army deployed for Counter-terrorism operations in the North East, in collaboration with the Hybrid Force and the Civilian Joint Task Force on Saturday 18 May 2024 neutealised six (6) terrorists at Lawanti area of Borno.

Military authorities disclosed that the terrorists were killed in an ambush.

“The troops acting on credible intelligence on the movement of the terrorists to carry out their nefarious mission, laid an ambush around the Lawanti area and neutralized 6 of the terrorists in the firefight that ensued.

“After overpowering the terrorists in the gun battle, the dogged troops recovered one General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) and 40 rounds of 7.62 by 51 mm belted ammunition.

“In a separate ambush operation, troops acting on actionable intelligence, set up an ambush at suspected terrorists’ crossing point near Shetimari, Sabon-Gari, and the Amarwa Bulamari Exchange Point in Bama Local Government Area.

“The troops successfully engaged the terrorists, neutralizing one, while others fled the scene.

“Troops are on the trail of the fleeing terrorists.

“Troops’ morale remains high, as they join forces to more committedly combat terrorism and ensure the safety and security of the region and other troubled areas of the country.

“The Nigerian Army therefore urges members of the public to continue to cooperate with the troops, as they conduct their operations to protect the citizenry against the nation’s adversaries.”

Source: Vanguard

A police team deployed to Kuriga in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has neutralised two bandits in the area.

The police operatives also recovered arms and ammunition from the bandits during a gunfight on Friday.

Samuel Aruwan, the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs in Kaduna, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday.

According to him, the operational feedback to the state government revealed that the operatives responded to distress calls about an attack on farmers by bandits on the outskirts of Kuriga village.

“Upon arrival, the security forces engaged the bandits in a fierce firefight, during which two of the criminals were neutralised. The forces recovered two AK-47 rifles and 17 rounds of ammunition from the scene,” he said.

Receiving the report, the governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani, commended the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, CP Ali Audu Dabigi, along with his officers and men, for their swift response and successful intervention, which led to the neutralisation of two bandits.

The governor urged the personnel and other security forces in the area to continue pursuing the criminal elements and ensure their complete dislodgement.

Source: Daily Trust

Bandits in the early hours of Sunday abducted five people from Shagari Quarters, Dei-Dei in the FCT.

Vigilante sources in the community told City & Crime that the attackers arrived in the area around noon and went straight to the compound of a senior customs officer, where they picked his wife, three of his children and a younger brother.

“They spent more than two hours before proceeding to neighbouring Dakwa community. The man used to work in Abuja, with the police Rapid Response Squad (RRS) always parking around his house. But they are no longer around following his deployment to Lagos, though his family is still living in the compound,” the source added.

It was learnt that the gunmen later released the officer’s wife who was said to be heavily pregnant, but left with his children and younger brother.

An attempt by the bandits to attack some houses in Dakwa town was said to have been unsuccessful, following a fierce fire exchange with security men there, which forced them to withdraw, according to the Chief of Dakwa Dr Alhassan Musa Babachukuri.

The traditional ruler lamented that the bandits have created a base behind the Zuma Rock in Chachi community near Dakawa in neighbouring Niger State, which leads to some forests around Bwari.

He called on the government to take serious action against the bandits before they escalate their activities.

The FCT police command spokeswoman, SP Josephine Adeh, was yet to respond to a text message to her on the incident.

Source: Daily Trust