News
Bandits abduct 60 in Southern Kaduna Church — SOKAPU
…Abductors demand N200m
By Idibia Gabriel, Kaduna
At least over 60 people have been reportedly abducted by bandits in a community popularly known as Kasuam Magain in Kajuru LGA of Kaduna state. They victims include women and little children and aged persons, that were abducted during a two-day operation carried out by the terror group in the community town and a church.
A statement signed by Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) President, Awemi Dio Maisamari revealed that the bandits have confirmed 45 persons in their custody, and have demanded for a ransom of N200 million, “but negotiation is still ongoing.”
“There is still no breathing space for communities in Southern Kaduna.
“Terrorists, jihadists, bandits and armed herdsmen have continued to plunder and wreck communities in the Southern state. The latest are the mass abductions that took place on the 12th and 13th of September, 2022 at Kasuwan Magani in Kajuru LGA of Southern Kaduna,” it stated.
According to SOKAPU, the affected community, of Kasuwan Magani, is about 20km South of Kaduna metropolis, on Kaduna – Kafanchan Express road, and hosts the biggest weekly market in Kaduna State.
SOKAPU noted that “On the first day (12th September), 6 people were abducted in a night raid by the daredevil terrorists at Ungwan Fada part of the town.
“With no measures put in place to forestall recurrence, the following day (13th September), the terrorists stormed the Cherubim and Seraphim Church during a night vigil programme at the Bayan Kasuwa quarters of Kasuwan Magani town at around midnight.
“They succeeded in carting away more than sixty people from the church and neighbouring houses. However, they could not be able to take all of them away because some were very little children, too aged or had health challenges.
“While retreating with their captors to their camps, they attacked Janwuriya village, few kilometres from Kasuwan Magani and abducted two more persons.
“As of now, forty-five (45) persons have so far been confirmed,” it stated.
The Union further stated that “But yesterday, 18th September, 2022, they made contact with some persons in the town via phone calls and claimed that only 40 persons are being held by them. They demanded for a ransom of N200 million, but negotiation is still ongoing.”
SOKAPU stated that they were therefore yet to know the identity or the fate of the 5 missing persons.
Similarly, it also disclosed that, “In other communities in Kajuru and Chikun LGAs, the occupying terrorists cohabit with the locals where the locals are treated like captives.
“They terrorise at will, making it difficult or impossible for them to till or harvest their farms. As a result, most early maturing crops are being left to rot on the farm. This is a daily experience in most occupied communities in Southern Kaduna.
“In the last few months Southern Kaduna has also seen an unusual influx of thousands of herds of cattle and herdsmen from neighbouring states. They indulge in deliberate farm land destruction often at night; stealing of ripe farm crops and intimidation of helpless victim farmers.
“Hundreds of hectares of crops bearing farmlands valued in millions of Naira have been destroyed. Worst hit are Sankwab, Gora Gida, Warkan, Ashong Ashui, Abuyab, Zamandabo, and Shiliam communities, in Atyap Chiefdom, Zangon Kataf Local Government Area in Southern Kaduna.”
It added that, “Numerous, often clandestine agreements in many communities with suspected herdsmen and their fronts have yielded no positive result.”
According to release, “The Sector S7 Commander of Operation Safe Haven held a meeting of herdsmen, host community leaders and farmers on Wednesday, 14 September, 2022 at Kafanchan.
“At the meeting, desperate victims of the herdsmen devastation told the Sector Commander that they were tired of holding fruitless meetings only for the violence to increase. This makes the meetings appear to serve the purpose of window dressing only. “We know that our security agencies and personnel have the capacity to rout these enemies of the people and the state because their routes, locations and sometimes, even collaborators within and without are well known. SOKAPU is also not unaware of the immense suffering and sacrifices being made by our security forces, for which we appreciate,” it stated.
SOKAPU however expressed profound sympathy to indigenous communities and peaceful Fulani herdsmen affected by this cruelty, calling on all communities not to let down their guards at this critical moment.
“Let us arise and prevent last minutes devastation of our dear people and our precious ancestral homeland. We will definitely survive this ill-wind, and even thrive once more in the land of our birth allotted to us by the Almighty,” it added.
News
Stop using repressive laws to intimidate journalists – SERAP, NGE tell FG
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, and Nigeria Guild of Editors, NGE, have called on Nigerian authorities at all levels of government to stop using repressive and anti-media laws to target, intimidate and harass journalists, critics and media houses.
The groups made the demand after an interactive session on ‘the state of press freedom in Nigeria’ held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Ikeja.
In a joint statement, SERAP and NGE said that, “the government of President Bola Tinubu, the country’s 36 governors and FCT minister must now genuinely uphold press freedom, ensure access to information to all Nigerians, obey court judgments, and respect the rule of law”.
They expressed concerns about the escalating crackdown on the right to freedom of expression and media freedom and the flagrant disregard for the rule of law by authorities at all levels of government.
The groups note that the suppression of the press in recent times takes various forms ranging from extrajudicial to unlawful detentions, disappearances, malicious prosecutions and wrongful use of both legislation and law enforcement.
The statement read in part: “We would continue to speak truth to power and to hold authorities to account for their constitutional and international obligations including on freedom of expression and media freedom.
“Nigeria as a country has a long and unpleasant history of press gagging and clampdown on media freedom, which is evidence of extensive state censorship of media and in some cases, the utter control of state-owned media houses.
“This position has not changed considerably despite almost 25 years of unbroken democratic rule in the Fourth Republic.”
News
FG adds 625MW to national grid – Minister
News
Tax: Court orders FCT-IRS agency to seal off defaulting coys
A Magistrate Court sitting in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, on Friday, ordered the Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) to seal off a company, Ifedi A.K. Nigeria Ltd, over allegations bordering on non-filing of annual returns.
The Magistrate, Janada Balami, gave the order after lawyer to FCT-IRS, Michael Towolawi, moved the application to the effect.
Towolawi told the court that the company had failed to file its annual returns from 2019 to 2023 in breach of Section 81 of the Personal Income Tax Act, LFN, 2004, and amended in 2011.
He said all efforts to make the company comply with the law proved abortive.
The lawyer, therefore, applied that the company be compel to appear before the court to explain why it acted in breach of the law.
Balami, who held that the application by the agency against the company had merit, accordingly granted same to seal the No 6, Rudolph Close, Off Katsina-Ala Street, Maitama, Abuja.
She, consequently, ordered the company, the sole defendant in the matter, to appear before the court on May 16.
The Director, Legal Services of the FCT-IRS, Festus Tsavar, told journalists after the proceeding that the service would move against companies that do not file their annual returns as provided by law.
“You know that we have a new minister in FCT that is doing a lot of projects and that hinges on money.
“And of course, you are aware that FCT has come out of TSA.
“So it is the internally generated revenue that will make the government of FCT to be able to do those projects completely within required time,” he said.
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