News Highlights for January

Update: Gunmen kill 11, set ablaze over 30 houses in fresh Southern Kaduna attack
The Kaduna State Government has confirmed that 11 locals were killed in Southern Kaduna on Sunday, while over 30 houses were burnt by gunmen. No fewer than 10 locals were allegedly burnt to death while sleeping when Gunmen set fire on the Atak Mawai community in Zaman Dabo village, Atyap Chiefdom of Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna state on Sunday. ”We were attacked in the early hours of today( Sunday)by unknown gunmen, they killed about ten 10 people. The attackers also burnt down about ten (10) houses,” a native who craved for anonymity has alleged. “The attackers stormed the community around 3 am when the people were asleep and went from house to house unleashing their deadly act against the people.”………..… READ MORE 

Four girls abducted in Kautikari village of Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State in northeast Nigeria, have regained freedom at the weekend, residents of Chibok town revealed on Sunday. The girls were among the 24 persons abducted during an attack on January 14, 2022, in the villages and surrounding villages of Chibok where the insurgents also looted food items and other needfuls of the villagers. Chibok is about 150km from Maiduguri the Borno State capital and have continued to suffer series of attacks from both Boko Haram and ISWAP elements, prompting the people to cry out recently, blaming the government for abandoning them. It could be recalled that during the incident, which led to the abduction, nine residents of Kautikari village were abducted, before two older women and some children were later released by the insurgents………..…READ MORE

Victims of persecution in Nigeria must be listened to, an expert on the persecution of Christians told students at the Franciscan University of Steubenville on Friday. Stephen Rache, an American lawyer who has worked extensively in persecuted Christian communities in Iraq and Nigeria, told students that the Nigerian government has largely abdicated its responsibility to keep its citizens safe, resulting in widespread religiously motivated violence and a general lawlessness in the northern part of the country. To make matters worse, he said, the United States Secretary of State this year, for as-yet-undisclosed reasons, no longer lists Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” on a watchlist of countries with the most egregious violations of religious freedom. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has been recommending the designation of Nigeria as a CPC since 2009. “The result of that is that the Christians are just out of options in terms of getting governments to recognize the truth of what’s happening,” Rache said.  …….…READ MORE

Nigeria Jihadists Kidnap 20 Children in Borno State, Residents Say
Jihadists killed two people and kidnapped 20 children in Nigeria’s Borno state, where Islamist militants are waging a more than decade-long insurgency, a community leader and residents said Friday. Thursday’s assault on Piyemi village took place near Chibok town where eight years ago, Boko Haram jihadists abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in an attack that sparked an international outcry. Fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) stormed Piyemi on Thursday afternoon, killing two men and seizing 13 girls and seven boys, according to the residents and the community leader. The ISWAP militants dressed in military uniforms started shooting and looting shops in the village and setting homes on fire, they said. “They shot dead two people and took away 13 girls and seven boys aged between 12 and 15,” local resident Samson Bulus told AFP by phone………… READ MORE 

ABUJA, Nigeria — An Islamic State-linked extremist group accused of killing hundreds in northeast Nigeria has released a video purporting to show child soldiers executing two men identified as members of the Nigerian military. The video released by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) was published on Tuesday by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi activity. It showed a man in Nigerian army uniform who said he was with the army special forces being shot twice in the head by a boy of about 12. Shortly after, another soldier who said he was captured in April 2021 was shot in the head by one of the three masked fighters behind him. A Nigerian military spokesperson did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment on the video, which security analysts told The Associated Press appears to have been shot near the Lake Chad Basin, the stronghold of the extremist group. Rita Katz, executive director of SITE Intelligence Group, told AP Thursday that ISIS is now “more desperate than ever to keep its name in the global discussion … given the fact that it no longer has a physical ‘caliphate’ outside of relatively small bases in different countries.” ……….…READ MORE

At least 486 people were killed in the first three weeks of 2022 by non-state actors across Nigeria, an average of 22 people a day, a PREMIUM TIMES compilation of media reports shows. Over 80 percent of the killings were carried out by terror groups that have terrorized the North-west and North-central zones while about 50 percent of the total killings occurred in Niger State, North-central Nigeria. Last week, the Niger State Governor, Sani Bello, announced that at least 220 people were killed in his state between January 1 and 17. Most of the killings in the state were unreported until the governor’s statement, an indication that the media miss some of the gruesome acts of terror groups in the country. Apart from Niger State, other states that witnessed large-scale killings in the first three weeks of 2022 were Zamfara, Plateau, and Kebbi. The victims were mostly unarmed civilians. PREMIUM TIMES compiled the incidents from media reports. Thus, unreported cases are not included. …….…READ MORE

Fresh attack in Plateau community claims 18 lives
The national leadership of Irigwe Development Association (IDA) has identified those killed in the Tuesday night attack on Ancha village, Irigwe chiefdom, Bassa local government area of Plateau State. The body said 18 people lost their lives in the latest incident which residents said lasted for over two hours. Giving the statistics shortly after returning from the affected community with other officials of the association,  Davidson Malison, the National Publicity Secretary, Irigwe Development Association said, “While other people celebrated the triumphant entry of the year 2022, the Rigwe people have been ushered into the year with a lot of unpleasantness and distastefulness. “This can be likened to a scenario where evil merchants have been adjured to having a field day in their attempt to achieve an agenda of Fulanization and annihilation of Rigwe ethnic nationality……..… READ MORE 

Member of the House of Representatives representing Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency of Zamfara State, Hon. Suleiman Abubakar Gumi has decried the recent killings by bandits in Zamfara State, saying it was worrisome that they are now targeting killing their make children. Speaking to a select Journalists in Abuja over the weekend, Gumi who is also a member of House Committees on Appropriations and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) speaker to the authorities to engage the local vigilante to assist in fishing out the bandits. He said: “One life lost is like killing the whole of humanity. So, having tens of people killed in cold blood is a cause for concern for every human being. So, it’s a worrisome development, especially after the long silence of reduced number of killings and suddenly the sudden escalation, definitely calls for concern. “You know we lost about 56 souls in one attack and a lot of properties and people are living from hand to mouth and still the little they have is being destroyed, their animals killed or carted away, children especially male child killed is a worrisome development……….…READ MORE

Hundreds of residents are fleeing Damari community in Birnin Gwari Local Council of Kaduna State, as bandits moving on motorcycles invaded the villages yesterday. Some of the villagers alleged that the bandits were in pursuit of members of a group loyal to a notorious warlord, Malam Abba, whom the Kaduna State Police Command, in 2020, confirmed to be a member of Boko Haram. The Guardian gathered that before the bandits invaded the community yesterday, a deadly clash had ensued, on Friday, between the terrorists and the lieutenants of Abba in which several bandits were killed. CONSEQUENTLY, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the military to respond “robustly” to the cases of killings and kidnappings in Niger State and to give effect to the strategic objectives through the use of force…….…READ MORE

INSECURITY: As Buhari speaks of performance, 218 killed across Nigeria last week
In the same week that President Muhammadu Buhari claimed that Nigerians are more secure under his administration than that of his predecessor, at least 218 people were killed by non-state actors across the country. The president in an interview on Channels television insisted that his administration had largely succeeded in tackling the country’s security woes. The president’s remarks were despite persistent attacks on citizens in almost every part of the country. Findings by this newspaper, as part of its weekly review of attacks by armed non-state actors, paint a different picture from what the president said. Last week, between January 2-8, at least 218 people were killed in separate incidents across the country, compared to the less than 30 in the previous week. One of the incidents last week was in Zamfara State where bandits ransacked five villages and killed over 200 persons. The total tally of casualties for the week was compiled by PREMIUM TIMES from media reports. Thus, unreported cases were not included…….… READ MORE 

An estimated 200 people were killed and 10,000 displaced in attacks by armed bandits in the northwestern Nigerian state of Zamfara following military air raids on their hideouts last week. A spokesperson for Sadiya Umar Farouq, minister of humanitarian affairs, said more than 200 bodies were buried. “We are very saddened by this incessant invasion … and we also worried about the displaced persons who are fleeing in their hundreds from their communities,” Nneka Ikem Anibeze said on Sunday. Farouq called the past week’s attacks in Zamfara state “horrific and tragic,” giving the first official toll after details began filtering out early Saturday. The minister said more 10,000 people were displaced when “their homes were razed by the bandits while scores are still missing”. The state government had previously said 58 people were killed in the attacks…………READ MORE

Nigeria has branded criminal gangs known locally as bandits that are blamed for mass abductions of schoolchildren as “terrorist” groups, a designation aimed at containing growing insecurity in the north. The country’s northwest and north-central states have long been afflicted by violence fuelled by disputes over access to land and resources, among other factors. Heavily armed gangs have taken advantage of the lack of effective policing to launch attacks, pillage villages, steal cattle and kidnap for ransom. But violence has recently become more widespread, piling pressure on the federal government – already battling the Boko Haram armed group and its offshoot in the northeast for more than a decade – to do more to halt the attacks………READ MORE

Ndume urges FG to prosecute sponsors of terrorism in Nigeria
A Federal lawmaker, Senator Ali Ndume has called on the Federal Government to name and arrest those sponsoring terrorism in the country. Senator Ndume, who is also the Chairman of, Senate Committee on Army, made the call during an interview on Channels TV’s Political Paradigm The lawmaker noted that he was prosecuted by the Federal Government for sponsoring Boko Haram. His offence, he noted, was because the Department of State Services (DSS) tracked a phone and uncovered a call made by the spokesman of the insurgents While noting that he was arrested, the lawmaker criticized security agencies for not doing a proper investigation before subjecting him to public ridicule. “If there is evidence that somebody is funding Boko Haram, there is clear evidence after doing your investigation, why don’t you tell Nigerians? Why don’t you prosecute them?” he questioned…………READ MORE

Food crisis to worsen as bandits kill, kidnap 352 farmers in 12 months
At least 352 farmers have been killed and kidnapped in 12 months amid the rising insecurity in Nigeria, a tally by The PUNCH has shown. The 352 comprised 216 killed farmers and 136 kidnapped farmers. The figures were obtained from the Nigeria Security Tracker, a project of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Africa, as well as media reports. The Council on Foreign Relations is a United States non-profit think tank specializing in US foreign policy and international affairs. It is headquartered in New York City, with an additional office in Massachusetts. The figure exceeds 352 as there were cases of killings and kidnappings of farmers with unknown numbers……… READ MORE 

Masari under fire over arrest of journalist
The association demanded the unconditional release of Omonu and called on the Federal Government to severely sanction all those involved in the despicable crime against humanity. Omonu, the Publisher of Summit Post Online Newspaper, was believed to have been arrested by agents of the Government of Katsina State. Chairman of the Diplomatic Correspondents Association of Nigeria, Mr. Amadin Uyi, in a statement issued in Abuja, said the Diplomatic Correspondents Association of Nigeria received with shock and disdain, the illegal arrest of one of Omonu. The association expressed extreme disappointment at the conduct of the Katsina State Government and security operatives who were used to perpetrate the act…..…READ MORE

Northerners Are Religiously Attached To Bandits, Terrorists — Buratai
Former Chief of Army Staff Tukur Buratai says there is a strong religious affinity between northerners and the bandits and terrorists threatening Nigeria’s security. “There is a strong religious affinity between the people in the town and the bandits and terrorists in the forests,” according to Mr Buratai. The former COAS, who currently is Nigeria’s ambassador to the Benin Republic, made this statement while speaking on Channels TV on Friday. Championing the deradicalization of bandits and terrorists, and the education of northerners, Mr. Buratai said this will positively impact on the war against terror. “There should be more deradicalization and further education on the impact and consequence of terrorism, banditry, kidnappings in the society to the people who lives in town so that they don’t support the bandits or the terrorists in the bush,” Mr. Buratai said………READ MORE