Defence/Security

Gunmen kidnap 2 people in Kubwa

Published

5 years ago

May 26, 2021

Gunmen have kidnapped two people from their houses in Byazhin, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The armed men, who stormed the hilly area close to the Lottery Quarters and few metres away from Living Faith Church at Byazhin in Kubwa, abducted a man identified as Mr Ayodele Somorin before they whisked away his neighbour, Mr Oladimeji Josiah.

A resident, who simply identified himself as Segun, told our correspondent, on Wednesday.

He said the men, who were abducted about five days ago, were still at the kidnappers’ den.

“Last week Friday, the gunmen were in this area around 11:45pm. Although I went for a church vigil, my wife and children were at home.

“My wife said earlier before the attack, she saw two people around a neighbour’s house through the window but she thought they were residents who were trying to store the rain water because it showered that night.

“However, after they broke into the first house and took away Somorin, they went to the second house where they shot sporadically before kidnapping Mr Josiah.

“When they entered the third house, unfortunately for them, nobody was at home but they upturned everything in the house in their search,” Segun narrated.

He said though the kidnappers did not enter his house, his wife was yet to recover from the shock as one of the bullets entered his house through one of his windows.

“I thank God nobody was hit by the bullet,” he said.

He said the armed men demanded for N10 million ransom each to free the abductees.

When our correspondent visited the families of the victims, their wives, in separate chats, narrated their experiences.

For Victoria, Somorife, last Friday was a day to remember.

“We were already asleep when they came. We woke up when the gunmen started banging the entrance door, shouting: ‘Open the door.’

“We locked ourselves in the toilet together with the children. When they gained access into the sitting room, they headed to the toilet forcing the door opened.

“About seven of them, armed with guns, ordered us to come out and sit down in the sitting room, while others were outside flashing powerful torch-lights. They said they did not come to hurt us,” she said.

Victoria said that the gunmen ransacked the house, made away with their money, laptop, phones, shoes, body creams and food stuff.

“My husband was then ordered to put on his footwear and they took him away,” she said.

She said she became cold when she began to hear gunshots as soon as they went to her neighbour’s residence.

Victoria said the matter was reported at the Byazhin Police Station the next day, Saturday, May 22, and that the police officers had visited the scene.

“The police told us that our husbands were kidnapped and that they will call us,” she said.

She said the kidnappers, who had since been communicating with them, initially asked for a N10 million ransom each.

On her part, Oyinlola, Josiah’s wife said she was unaware that the armed men were in the surroundings until they began to break the burglar- proof iron gate into their sitting room, shooting randomly.

“My husband told me and my children to go and hide in the toilet. When they forcefully entered, they started beating my husband, shouting: ‘Where is your yaro.’

“They did not come to the toilet even though the door was unlocked. They then took my husband away.

“They also went with some money, my two phones, one of my children’s phones, their school bags, two breads which I bought at N500 each, clothes, etc, before they went to the third house where they met nobody,” she said.

She said although they demanded N10 million on each abductee at first, they lowered it to N5 million for each before they asked them to pay N1 million ransom each.

Oyinlola, who said no fewer than 10 bullets were picked on the ground after the assailants left, corroborated Victoria’s statement that the case was reported at the Byazhin Police Station.

The mother of three prayed for the safe returns of her husband.

When our correspondent visited the Byazhin Police Station, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO, Suleiman Yakubu, said he was not in the position to speak to journalist on such issues.

“We don’t talk to the press, whatever information you have, you can channel it through our Police PRO, FCT Command,” he said.

However, the Public Relations Officer of the FCT Police Command, Mariam Yusuf, confirmed the incident to our correspondent in a telephone interview.

She said the police has launched an operation with the view to rescuing the victims unhurt.

“We have launched a strategic operation to rescue the victims unhurt and are trailing the suspects,” Yusuf said.

Defence/Security

Why Christians Are Being Targeted in Nigeria — Majeed Dahiru Speaks

Published

2 weeks ago

November 13, 2025

Our Reporter

By: Fabian Apechihin

Public affairs analyst, Majeed Dahiru, has weighed in on the reports of targeted killings of Christians in Nigeria, insisting that President Bola Tinubu cannot be accused of religious bias or complicity in the country’s security challenges.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Dahiru said President Tinubu has shown a strong commitment to national security and unity since taking office.

“President Tinubu has not, by any stretch of the imagination, been accused of religious bigotry or having sympathy for Islamist jihadist terror groups,” he stated.

According to him, the president has mobilised the armed forces and other security agencies to combat insurgency and restore stability in violence-prone regions.

Dahiru acknowledged that attacks on Christians in some parts of the country remain worrisome but maintained that there has been visible progress in the fight against terrorism and banditry.

“Absolutely not. You can criticise him for every other thing, but not for religious bias. There is no way he would sit idly as Commander-in-Chief and allow or encourage the killing of Christians,” he added.

His comments follow heightened international concern over alleged religiously motivated killings in Nigeria.

On October 31, former U.S. President Donald Trump described the situation as a “mass slaughter,” warning that Christianity faces an existential threat in Nigeria.

Trump also directed Congressman Riley Moore and House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole to investigate the reported killings, saying:

“I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘country of particular concern.’ But that is the least of it. When Christians, or any such group, are slaughtered as is happening in Nigeria (3,100 versus 4,476 worldwide), something must be done!”

However, the Nigerian government has dismissed the claims of a “Christian genocide,” insisting that security forces are confronting all forms of criminality without ethnic or religious bias.

Defence/Security

Genocide Allegations: Group Urges Tinubu to File Treason Charges Against Nigerians Who Reported Country to Trump

Published

3 weeks ago

November 10, 2025

Our Reporter

By: Fabian Apechihin

The National Patriotic Elders for Peace and Harmony of Nigeria (NPEPHN) has called on President Bola Tinubu to file treasonable felony charges against Nigerians who allegedly reported cases of Christian massacres to the United States government.

In a statement issued on Friday, the group’s president, Dr. Bature AbdulAziz, condemned the actions of those he described as “unpatriotic elements”, insisting that their reports to foreign powers amounted to a betrayal of national sovereignty.

“Nigeria is a sovereign nation with adequate laws to address the concerns of its citizens,” AbdulAziz said. “Reporting the country to another nation is nothing short of treasonable felony, and those responsible must be prosecuted.”

The elders also urged Northern governors to urgently convene a regional security meeting involving religious and ethnic leaders to address the recurring violence in the region and to present verified data on casualties to counter “false narratives” being circulated internationally.

According to AbdulAziz, the silence of Northern leaders amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of military intervention in Nigeria was unacceptable. He advised them to compile accurate records of attacks and present factual evidence before relevant authorities.

“The claim that over 500,000 Christians have been killed must be supported with verifiable data,” he said. “The U.S. government knows that most of the victims of insecurity in Nigeria are Muslims, not Christians.”

Citing data from various conflict-prone regions, AbdulAziz maintained that 75 percent of victims of terrorism and communal violence since 1999 have been Muslims, noting that most of the affected areas — including Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Borno, and Yobe — are predominantly Muslim communities.

“These are the towns and villages that have been burned, destroyed, and displaced repeatedly,” he added.

While acknowledging that parts of the North Central zone — including Benue, Plateau, Taraba, and Kwara — have a higher Christian population, AbdulAziz said most of the conflicts in those states stem from farmer-herder clashes, where both sides suffer heavy losses.

“In many cases, Muslim herders are attacked and displaced by host communities. Their families and livestock are killed, yet no one talks about those casualties,” he noted.

AbdulAziz faulted the U.S. government for allegedly accepting “false genocide claims” without conducting independent investigations.

“It is shocking that the United States would believe such fabrications despite its advanced intelligence systems. We suspect there is a hidden political motive — possibly linked to Nigeria’s stance on the Israel-Palestine issue at the United Nations, or our government’s growing alignment with France and other nations,” he alleged.

The elder statesman reminded Donald Trump of Nigeria’s historic role in promoting peace and democracy across Africa.

“Any attack on Nigeria would destabilize several African nations that depend on her strength. We therefore appeal to President Trump to reconsider his decision,” AbdulAziz stated.

The group reiterated its support for President Tinubu’s administration and urged Nigerians to unite in defending the country’s sovereignty from “external manipulation and internal sabotage.”

Defence/Security

Retired ACP Sheriff Rabiu Blasts Northern Clerics Over Hate Preaching, Almajiri Menace

Published

3 weeks ago

November 10, 2025

Our Reporter

By: Fabian Apechihin

A retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sheriff Abubakar Rabiu, has sparked nationwide debate with a hard-hitting open letter accusing some Northern Islamic clerics of fueling division and violence through incendiary sermons.

The strongly worded message, which has gone viral across WhatsApp groups, mosque forums, and security networks, condemned what Rabiu described as the “toxic preaching culture” that has poisoned the minds of Northern youths and laid the foundation for extremist movements like Boko Haram.

“Nobody has the key to Jannatul Firdausi except Allah,” Rabiu wrote. “Yet any Tom, Dick, and Harry with shallow knowledge of Islam grabs a microphone and calls our Christian brothers ‘Arna’, ‘Kafurai’, or ‘infidels destined for hell’. This is not Islam. This is madness — and this madness gave birth to Boko Haram.”

Rabiu, who once served as Chief Security Officer to former Adamawa Governor Murtala Nyako, said Nigeria’s greatest internal threats are hate preaching and the Almajiri system, which he described as a breeding ground for radicalization.

“An idle mind is the devil’s workshop. Those street children begging today are tomorrow’s recruits and foot soldiers for every terrorist group promising paradise for killing ‘infidels’,” he warned.

Turning his criticism inward, Rabiu questioned why Northern leaders were quick to blame Donald Trump for placing Nigeria on a religious freedom watchlist while ignoring the behaviors that justified it.

“Instead of shouting that Trump is Islamophobic, let’s ask ourselves why America put us on that list,” he said. “In Saudi Arabia, Qatar, or the UAE, try preaching hate from a pulpit — you’ll be arrested the same day. But here in secular Nigeria, they insult Christians from Friday to Friday and nobody stops them.”

Rabiu urged President Bola Tinubu to take decisive action by directing the National Assembly, Northern governors, and local government councils to enact and enforce laws criminalizing:

The use of derogatory religious labels like arne or kafir
Street begging by children under the Almajiri system
Hate speech disguised as preaching

“Do this sincerely,” he cautioned, “and America will see that we are serious. Fail, and we invite the same war machinery that turned Afghanistan and Iraq into graveyards.”

The retired officer ended with a nostalgic appeal for unity:

“If we implement these measures, Nigeria will return to the peace we had in the 1970s — when Muslims and Christians drank from the same cup, married each other’s sisters, and buried each other’s dead.”

By Thursday evening, Rabiu’s open letter had been shared in over 40 Northern WhatsApp groups, drawing support from youth leaders and religious moderates alike.

A community leader in Kano’s Hotoro suburb said, “This is the first time a respected Muslim officer has spoken this boldly. If our governors ignore him, they are the real enemies of Islam.”

Although the Kano Hisbah Board declined to comment officially, a senior commander who spoke off record admitted, “Mallam Sheriff said what many of us whisper privately. The question is — who will bell the cat?”

As Northern Nigeria grapples with rising tension over the message, one fact remains clear: a retired police officer has drawn a bold red line against radical preaching — and the ripple effect may reshape the region’s religious discourse for years to come.