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The number of people killed by flash floods and cold lava flow from a volcano in western Indonesia over the weekend has risen to 41 with 17 more missing, a local disaster agency official told AFP Monday.

Hours of heavy rain caused large volcanic rocks to roll down one of Indonesia’s most active volcanos into two districts on Sumatra island Saturday evening, while flooding inundated roads, homes and mosques.

“Data as of last night, we recorded 37 dead victims… But from this morning it has grown again, the figure reached 41 (dead),” Ilham Wahab, West Sumatra disaster mitigation agency official, told AFP.

Rescuers were searching for 17 still missing, three in Agam district and 14 in Tanah Datar, both the worst-hit areas of the flood and home to hundreds of thousands of people, he said.

Ilham could not confirm the number of locals evacuated because officials had encouraged “people to evacuate to relatives’ places, which are safer” than tent shelters in heavy rains.

“We are focused on first, searching and rescuing the victims, second, protecting the evacuees, protecting the vulnerable people,” he said.

Roads in the districts were turned into rivers, with mosques and houses damaged.

Heavy rains inundated neighbourhoods with muddy flood waters and swept vehicles into a nearby river, while volcanic ash and large rocks rumbled down Mount Merapi.

Cold lava, also known as lahar, is volcanic material such as ash, sand and pebbles carried down a volcano’s slopes by rain.

Authorities sent a team of rescuers and rubber boats to look for the missing victims and to transport people to shelters.

The local government set up evacuation centres and emergency posts in several areas of Agam and Tanah Datar.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency, or BNPB, said 84 homes, 16 bridges and two mosques were damaged in Tanah Datar, as were 20 hectares (50 acres) of rice fields.

Survivors recounted their horror when the flooding and rockfall began.

“I heard the thunder and the sound similar to boiling water. It was the sound of big rocks falling,” housewife Rina Devina told AFP, adding that three of her neighbours were killed.

“It was pitch black, so I used my cellphone as a flashlight. The road was muddy, so I chanted ‘God, have mercy!’ over and over again,” she said of her evacuation to a local official’s office.

Indonesia is prone to landslides and floods during the rainy season.

In 2022, about 24,000 people were evacuated and two children were killed in floods on Sumatra island, with environmental campaigners blaming deforestation caused by logging for worsening the disaster.

Source: Channels

Chadian soldiers deployed on Friday in large numbers across several districts of the capital after late-night celebrations marked the presidential election victory of junta leader General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno.

Even before the official results gave Deby more than 61 percent in Monday’s ballot, the presidential guard had parked many armoured vehicles on major junctions and thoroughfares.

AFP reporters said the number of troops on the streets Friday appeared considerably larger than after previous elections.

Just hours before the official results were announced late Thursday, Prime Minister Succes Masra had declared himself victor of the vote.

The former opposition leader appointed prime minister in January, had warned that Deby’s team would rig the results to ensure he won.

Masra urged Chadians to “mobilise peacefully but firmly… to prove our victory”.

The electoral commission said Masra had garnered only 18.53 percent of the vote.

Deby, 40, had been proclaimed transitional president three years ago by the army after his father, iron-fisted president Idriss Deby Itno, had been shot dead by rebels.

No stepped-up security was visible around the headquarters of Masra’s Transformers’ party in the south of the capital on Friday.

Soldiers had let off repeated bursts of gunfire in the air near the party HQ after the results were announced late Thursday, both in celebration of Deby’s win and to deter protesters from gathering.

Heavily-armed members of the presidential guard wearing their red berets were out Friday on main roads alongside an impressive number of armoured vehicles, AFP journalists reported.

But the capital appeared calm ahead of Friday’s Muslim prayers and people went about their business.

Near the presidential palace, Deby’s supporters had shouted, sung, blasted car horns and fired their own guns in the air in celebration.

At least two teenagers were wounded by falling bullets, an AFP journalist saw.

Source: Channels

Unknown gunmen have reportedly killed 3 police officers and one Federal Road Safety Corps personnel in different attacks in Nsukka and Udenu local government areas in Enugu state.

According to eyewitnesses, The gunmen attacked a police division in Umabor Eha-Alumona in the Nsukka area council on Saturday night, killing two policemen.

In a separate attack, gunmen also killed federal road safety personnel as well as a police officer, attached to the traditional ruler of Egali Amalla Community in Orba, Udenu Local Area, HRH Igwe Patrick Eze, also known as, Igwe Waziri.

The monarch, reportedly caught in the web of the attack, miraculously escaped unhurt.

The gunmen also burnt an FRSC van during the carnage.

Meanwhile, the police are yet to give any official statement regarding the killings

The fresh killing is happening less than 24 hours after two police officers on duty, were murdered within the state metropolis, prompting the state governor to place a 10 million naira bounty on the culprits.

Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State had vowed to apprehend the assailants who killed two policemen on Friday with all the resources available to the state government.

Source: Channels

Lagos State Government has disclosed that out of the 33 affected victims of the recent tragic gas explosion in Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state, 11 fatalities were recorded in the incident.

This came as the state government said it had taken full responsibility for the medical expenses of the affected surviving victims.

State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, who spoke during a visit to victims at the Burns and Trauma Unit, Gbagada General Hospital, sympathised with the victims’ families, assuring them of top-tier healthcare services at no cost.

According to Abayomi,”Of the 33 affected victims,11 fatalities occurred due to extensive third-degree burns, which severely impacted vital organs.

“We are deeply invested in the welfare and recovery of the victims. The government is fully covering the treatment costs for these patients.”

Abayomi stressed the state government’s commitment to preventing the reoccurrences of such tragedies and ensured of the continuous provision of quality healthcare services to all residents.

He said: “In the aftermath of the devastating incident, the state government has reiterated its unwavering commitment to providing unrelenting support to the victims to aid their recovery from the trauma and their families.

“The state government has pledged to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the affected individuals receive the necessary assistance to help them recover from the trauma.”

Abayomi highlighted the significance of the Burns and Trauma Centre in Gbagada, a specialised facility dedicated to addressing burn injuries and trauma cases, underscoring the government’s dedication to providing specialized healthcare services to residents.

“This facility is a 44-bed Burns and Trauma Unit which is an annex of LASUTH. It is dedicated to the treatment of burn injuries and trauma cases kudos to Mr. Governor for the amount of resources that he dedicates to this facility.

“The fact that this facility is solely focused on burns and trauma is a testament to the state’s commitment to providing specialised and quality care for patients with such cases,” he said.

Chairman of Ajeromi Ifelodun LGA, Mr. Fatai Ayoola, also visited the victims and commended the healthcare professionals for their exemplary service delivery.

He urged the state government to discourage the establishment of gas plants in residential areas to ensure the safety and well-being of residents, stressing the importance of enforcing regulations and guidelines for the proper location and operation of such facilities.

Source: Vanguard

The military Joint Task Force, codenamed Operation Delta Safe, on Sunday, uncovered over 50 illegal crude oil refining sites in the Biseni area of the Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

The JTF also uncovered a large open pit that the oil thieves dug to accommodate over 10 trucks of Automotive Gas Oil, also known as diesel.

The JTF Commander, John Okeke, who led the operation, said the illegal refining of stolen crude oil was taking place in each of the sites.

Okeke said he had earlier warned oil thieves in the area to desist from illegal refining of crude oil.

He said, “Today, as I said, we are not going to relent and it is a work in progress. We will not get tired, we will continue. We are in Biseni in the Yenagoa LGA of Bayelsa.

“We transverse from Ahoada West LGA of Rivers to reach this point. The most surprising thing is that this place is housing over 50 cooking sites with unique arrangements.

 “Look at the thick forest we are in now. You can never imagine that such a serious crime is going on here. If not for the good-spirited individual who volunteered information, we wouldn’t have known.”

According to him, the thieves operating in the area connected a theft line made of a two-inch pipe, a galvanised pipe, directly to the supply oil line on the road, from a distance of about one kilometre.

 “Then they have a lot of funny connections where they have various arrangements of D connection, multiple connections, where each of the thieves gets his supply from a large dug-out open pit that can accommodate more than 10 trucks of AGO, holding crude oil, from where they distribute to their cooking sites,” the JTF commander said.

Okeke said the military would not relent in the campaign against oil theft and economic sabotage.

He said, “I, personally, will begin to advocate more serious measures to address this challenge, because the country is bleeding from these illicit oil activities.

“When you allow such activities to continuously be perpetrated, the legitimate people that engage in the business will not be able to sell their products, because these criminals will be selling at far lower prices.

“The government needs to gain revenue for developmental purposes. That is why we have taken it as a force to continue fighting this battle and we will not relent.”

Okeke urged public-spirited persons in the area to volunteer useful information that would help in stemming the tide of illegal businesses.

Source: Punch

Residents of the ancient city of Zaria in Kaduna State were on Sunday thrown into mourning following the arrest of one AbdulAzeez Idris, who allegedly abducted and killed his six-year-old cousin, Aisha Dahiru.

The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansir Hassan, while confirming the case, said Dahiru was kidnapped while on her way to Islamiya school (Qur’anic school).

Hassan disclosed that the six-year-old was killed after being recognised by the cousin while hostage.

This was despite the abductee  collecting a N8m ransom through an unknown caller, according to the police spokesman

Hassan, who said the incident happened on February 12, 2024,  noted that the case had since been referred to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the SCID Kaduna, after the victim’s father, Saidu Dahiru, lodged the complaint.

The police chief in a statement, said, “On February 12, 2024, at about 1:00 hrs, Mr. Saidu Dahiru, father of the victim, a resident of Angwan Juma’a, Zaria, reported to the Zaria City Police Station that his daughter, Aisha Saidu, a six-year-old female, went missing on her way to Islamiyya school.

“According to Mr. Dahiru,  Aisha was allegedly abducted by her cousin, Abdulazeez Idris, also residing in Angwan Juma’a, Zaria. Following her disappearance, Dahiru received a phone call from an unknown individual, later identified as the perpetrator, demanding a ransom of N8m for her safe return.

“The case was transferred to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of SCID, Kaduna, where they traced and arrested the perpetrator, identified as Abdulazeez Idris, in Makarfi Local Government.

“The suspect confessed to the heinous crime, admitting to slaying the innocent child by brutally slashing her neck with a razor blade on the account that she recognised him and then went on to dispose of her lifeless body in a well.”

The police spokesman quoted the state Commissioner of Police,  Audu Ali, as assuring members of the public that the case would be diligently investigated to ensure that justice was served for Aisha Saidu and her grieving family.

According to Hassan, the suspect will be charged in court as soon as the investigation is completed.

Source: Punch

Some hunters in Benue community have rescued a baby reportedly buried alive in Buruku Local Government Area of the state.

According to a resident of the area, who simply identified himself as Terna, the incident took place in the Ashav Kusuv community.

He stated that hunters found the baby and brought her alive from the forest where she was buried alive.

“Some hunters on Saturday found a baby girl and said that they found her buried alive in a forest.

“The baby is currently being taken care of at Ashav Kusuv community,” he narrated.

Iorkyaan Agber, the Chairman of the local government, speaking to newsmen on Sunday, confirmed the report, stating that the baby was found by some hunters in a forest.

Agba stated, “Some hunters indeed found a baby in the forest but we are investigating to know who went and dropped a baby in the forest and the reason for doing that.”

As of the time of this report, efforts to reach the Benue Police Spokesperson, Catherine Anene, were not successful as her phone rang out.

Source: Daily Post

In a coordinated operation aimed at eradicating terrorist strongholds in remote areas of Taraba State, troops of 6 Brigade/Sector 3 Operation Whirl Stroke, have reported dismantling terrorist hideouts in Rugga, Sarti and Yade communities of Takum local government area of Taraba State.

In a statement by the Director Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, said the successful military operations, exemplified the Nigerian Army’s unwavering commitment, to decisively combat all forms of criminal activities, reassuring the public of their safety and security as the farming season approaches in the state.

While relating the operations that led to the achievement, General Nwachuwku said during an aggressive patrol conducted by the troops of 93 Battalion Sub-Sector 3B OPWS, contact was made with terrorists who fled their base in the face of the troops’ overwhelming firepower.

“A thorough search of the terrorists’ hideout resulted in the seizure of 1 AK-47 rifle, a magazine containing 7 rounds of 7.6mm X39mm ball ammunition and 1 cartridge. Additionally, a knife and two mobile phones belonging to the terrorists were also confiscated. The troops are in pursuit of the terrorists to dismantle all criminal hideouts and ensure the area remains uninhabitable for unlawful activities,” the statement said.

He urged the general public, to continually provide security agencies with timely actionable information about any strange movement in their areas.

Source: Channels