Crime
Two killed in attack on police station near Niger capital
Two policemen were killed late Tuesday when gunmen attacked a police station on the northern edge of the Niger capital Niamey, a security official said.
It is the closest attack to the city yet in a long-running insurgency by suspected jihadists.
“The toll is two dead and four wounded, two of them serious,” the security source said Wednesday.
“We heard gunfire coming from the station at 11:00 pm (2200 GMT),” a witness told News Men, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The police station is at the northern entrance to the city, on the highway from Ouallam, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) away.
Police investigators were on the scene on Wednesday morning.
Niger, a large, impoverished state in the heart of the fragile Sahel region, is grappling with attacks by jihadist groups in the west of the country, and raids by Boko Haram Islamists in the south, near the border with Nigeria.
Eighty-eight civilians were killed by Boko Haram in March alone, and more than 18,000 villagers forced to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.
On June 8, a US military vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device as it entered a firing range near Ouallam for a joint training exercise.
Niger hosts an estimated 800 US troops, the largest American deployment in Africa.
The scale of the US presence came to light in October 2018, when four US and five Nigerien troops were killed in an ambush by fighters affiliated to the so-called Islamic State group.
Security is tight in Niamey, with high-profile deployment of the military and police and checkpoints on the highways into town.
The city is due to host a summit of the African Union (AU) on July 7 and 8.
Crime
Two farmers jailed for assault, attempted extortion
An Area Court in Jos on Friday sentenced two farmers, Samaila Zanko, 24, and Umar Abubakar, 36, to three months imprisonment each for assault and extortion.
The judge, Mr Shawomi Bokkos, sentenced Zanko and Abubakar after they pleaded guilty to assault and attempted extortion.
Bokkos, however, gave each of them an option to pay a fine of N10,000.
Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Monday Dabit told the court that the case was reported on Sept. 11 at the office of the Police Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Jos, by the complainant, Malam Saudi Abdullahi.
The prosecutor said that the convicts beat up the complainant after invading his house.
He told the court that the convicts also demanded N3 million from the complainant as a “settlement fee”and threatened to beat him up if he refused to comply.
Dabit said that the offence contravened the provisions of the Plateau Penal Code.
Crime
Family of Gandu attack victim in Nasarawa begs Gov. Sule, others for assistance
The family of Isa Yusuf, a victim of a military shoot-out with suspected kidnappers in the Gandu area of the Lafia metropolis, Nasarawa State, has appealed for help.
Isa Yusuf was shot and left at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH), Lafia after a rescue mission went awry.
According to Salihu Yusuf, the elder brother of the victim, Isa went to rescue a kidnapped relative in Gandu, only to be mistaken for fleeing kidnappers by military operatives. The encounter resulted in Isa being shot three times.
The family, expressing understanding of the military’s duty, is struggling with the escalating medical expenses.
Salihu Yusuf stated the family has already spent over ₦200,000 on tests and scanning, with indications that one of the shots affected Isa’s spinal cord, necessitating a referral to a hospital in Jos, Plateau State.
Isa, a painter and electrician, not only faces health challenges but also cares for four children left behind by a late brother.
The family, unable to bear the medical costs alone, is reaching out to well-meaning individuals, with a special plea to Governor Abdullahi Sule for assistance.
Crime
Student jailed for theft in Jos
An area court in Jos, Plateau State capital, on Friday, sentenced a 23-year-old student, David Longji, to three months imprisonment for stealing a solar panel.
The judge, Mr Shawomi Bokkos, sentenced Longji after he pleaded guilty to theft.
Bokkos, however, gave him the option to pay N20,000 as a fine.
Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Insp Ibrahim Gokwat, told the court that the case was reported on October 16 at the Anglo-Jos Police Station by one Livinus James, the complainant.
The prosecutor said the convict stole the solar panel from a company and was caught while trying to sell it.
Gokwat said the offence contravened the provisions of the Plateau Penal Code.
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