Rapists, Assassins, Drug Addicts ‘Take Over’ El-Rufai's Kaduna

 

Governor Nasir el-Rufai

The months of January and February, 2016 were indeed busy ones for the Kaduna State police command because hardly was there a day that cases of rape, and other crimes were not reported to law enforcement agents, a report by The Sun has disclosed.

Early January, five men were arrested by the Police for alleged criminal conspiracy, abduction and rape of a 16 year-old girl in Kaduna metropolis. One of the suspects, Sadiq Ibrahim was said to have abducted the girl from Mando area in the city on 16th January and took her to another suspect’s house, one Hassan Ibrahim in Ungwan Shanu where she was raped.

Confirming the incident, Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Zubairu Abubakar said the five suspects turned the girl into a sex slave after her abductions for five days.

“One Sadiq Ibrahim (m) allegedly abducted a 16-year old girl from Mando and took her to one of his friend’s residence, Hassan Ibrahim (m) of Ungwan Shanu. Having raped her, he handed her over to four of his friends, namely Hassan Ibrahim, Umar Musa Nafiu I. Goma and Kabiru Umar.

“They all raped and kept her as a sex slave for five days before their arrest. The suspects are in police custody and investigation is ongoing,” DSP Abubakar said.

In another development, on January 17, one Abdullahi Saleh, 30, was also arrested for allegedly raping an 11- year old girl, the police spokesman stated, adding that further investigation was also in progress.

A secondary school student, Yunusa Umar, 19, was  arrested by the Police in Kaduna for allegedly stabbing his friend, Aliyu Yusuf,  22, to death over dispute over girlfriend. Four other suspects were said to have confessed to conniving with Umar to stab Yusuf to death along Atahiru Road, Malali  area of Kaduna metropolis.

In its effort to stop drug trafficking, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Kaduna arrested  about 25 suspected drug addicts and traffickers in  cocaine and other unlawful drugs within the same period.

Their arrest followed a raid carried out by the agency at a popular drug addicts’ den, called ‘The Black Street’ in Sabo Tasha area of the state capital. Some of the recovered drugs include cocaine, Indian hemp, codeine and tramol, among others.

Parading the suspects, NDLEA Commander, Samuel Azige said, during the raid, both cracked and powdery form of cocaine were recovered from the suspects.

Some of the suspects paraded at the Kaduna Command headquarters of the agency in Kaduna confessed to the crime.

One of the suspects, Barret Salihu, 22 said, “I don’t know why they arrested me, because I don’t sell wee-wee. I only take wee-wee.”

Asked why he takes ‘wee-wee’ (Indian hemp), Salihu said, “when I take it I feel okay, but now, I have not taken it, and I am not feeling okay.”

The NDLEA Commander explained that, preliminary investigations revealed that, the suspects wrap the powdered cocaine and sell, while they heat and inhale the cracked ones.

He however said that the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigation was concluded, adding that the suspects had constituted nuisance and engaged in all forms of vices in the area.

“In fact, we have identified the owner of the houses the suspects use, and he told us that, he had made efforts to secure his property from the addicts, but when he bought blocks to fence the house the boys packed the blocks and sold them.

“There is another house where they have completely sent the owner away. He had to relocate to another place because of their threat. In fact, people have put their houses for sale around the area due to insecurity caused by these people”, he said.

In a similar development, following his arrest by the NDLEA for dealing on marijuana (Indian hemp), the  village Head of Goma in Gimi district of Sanga Local Government area of the state, Ibrahim Danladi was suspended by the state governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai.

Danladi was said to have been arrested by the NDLEA while in possession of a 1.5kg of marijuana in his Goma village on January 20. According to Samuel Aruwan, the governor’s media  spokesman, operatives of  the NDLEA arrested Danladi and reported the matter to the state government for necessary action because of his status as a traditional ruler.

Aruwan, who said the traditional ruler admitted ownership of the illegal drug, said that the NDLEA would charge him to court as soon as it concluded investigations. He said the decision to suspend the embattled village head was taken at the State Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor El-Rufai.

There was a case of attempted assassination in the first week of February when some unidentified persons resorted to targeting individuals perceived as enemies. One of such individuals is the Zamfara State-born Fulani Christian activist, Mr. Yunana Shibau.

Shibau, it would be recalled, was widely reported  in the local and international media in year 2000 when he championed a campaign against the introduction of the Sharia legal system in his home state of Zamfara where, Christian indigenes are in the minority.

It was also later in the news when at the height of Boko Haram insurgency in 2013, he reportedly went to the British Prime Minister official residence at 10 Downing Street, London with the advocacy that the British  government and its allies in the west should redouble their military assistance to the Nigerian government through supply of hardware and intelligence in their fight against terrorism.

According to a security source, three persons accosted a close friend of Mr. Shibau in Kaduna last week, with a chilling message which they said was a warning to his “infidel friend and an enemy of the religion of Allah”.

Following this, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Northern States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter, raised the alarm that some individuals were being tortured and killed by hired assassins as well as armed robbers, instilling fear in people in other communities which often led to their displacement.

In a 10-point resolution signed by the Chairman of the communiqué drafting committee, Elder Danladi Yarima, at the end of the national executive committee meeting of CAN, it noted how minority ethnic groups and predominantly Christian communities are being terrorised over land matters in the middle-belt states.

“Individuals are harassed or sometimes tortured or killed in the hope of instilling fear in them as it happened recently in Rijana in Kaduna State. Many of such cases are not reported because of fear of not obtaining justice and fair-play from the security agents who are viewed as collaborators in the crime of subjugation.

“This kind of approach ensures that we eliminate those who live amongst us and yet help these vicious characters in carrying out such heinous destruction of human beings and property. Government should be proactive, practical and sustaining in its defensive activities”, the communiqué read in part.

Also, in January, Governors of   the northern states bordering the dreaded Kamuku Forest in Kaduna State, where series of criminal activities have been ongoing for years, met and reviewed the security situation. The governors of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kano, Kebbi, Katsina, Niger and  Kaduna States  met for the fourth time over the issue.

Joint security operatives have been combing the forest to  find solution to rising fears of being a future nest for Boko Haram insurgents, even as their efforts succeeded in recovering 30,000 cattles from rustlers.

Fielding questions from newsmen shortly after the closed door meeting which lasted for over two hours, spokesman of the governors,  Aminu Bello Masari, who is the governor of Katsina State, said,  “the essence of the meeting is to appraise the security situation concerning cattle rustling in the zone and  other activities going on in Kamuku forest.

“This forest borders Kaduna,  Zamfara, Sokoto, Kano, Kebbi,  Katsina,  and Niger. We have reviewed operations within those areas. I think we have made tremendous achievements,  considering the number of  stolen animals that were recovered from the forest.

“Over 30,000 cattles were recovered across the states bordering the forest.  As you can see now the activities of the rustlers have reduced much. We are expecting to sustain this.

“On the issue of kidnapping,  it is the fall out of the fight against rustling who may have decided to go into kidnapping since they have been blocked from stealing cattles”.

A PRESIDENT IN NEED OF DISCIPLES
 

President Buhari

By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, let me say right away that I do not envy President Muhammadu Buhari at this moment. It cannot be easy carrying the burden of nearly 200 million highly boisterous people. It is worse when your predecessors had messed up big time thus almost snuffing life out of a potentially great nation. What a shame!

I’m not trying to find and make excuses for the President. Far from it, but it is pertinent to constantly remind ourselves of how we got to this sad juncture. I seriously doubt if Mr President ever bargained for this monstrosity that has confronted him so early in his long awaited and much trumpeted second coming. The Naira has nose-dived in the most cataclysmic fall ever in the history of our beleaguered country. And the disaster I foresee and predict would be monumental if a miracle does not happen soon. I won’t be surprised if our great leader is experiencing insomnia and wondering what has hit him like a thunderbolt.

When I had the privilege of sitting with our President one on one, I was reasonably persuaded that he has in him the right dose of passion and patriotism necessary to reignite this great country. He also has the guts to take on dangerous tasks. He wouldn’t have been a Major General if he was lily-livered. There is no question in my mind that he has what it takes to lead Nigeria out of the doldrums. But whenever I think of the debilitating challenges he is currently facing what comes to my mind is that the man is running a lonely marathon. I’m not sure he has enough disciples around willing to imbibe his spirit of simplicity and integrity. The reason is very simple. It is not so easy to be a Buhari devotee.

What do I mean? Buhari is a preacher who teaches what is quite difficult for an average Nigerian to follow and obey. I already explained in my column last week why corruption is very attractive in Nigeria. The contradictions within our ruling classes make it almost impossible to be a pontiff in our clime. The society makes silly demands of the public officer. The public officer also has the mind-set of a demi-god. He knows everyone sucks up to him and expects him to be a Santa Claus in office. There are other expectations he must activate and actualise. In summary, he is not expected to retire into poverty and perdition. Now Buhari is saying that is no longer possible. And that Big Brother is watching everyone and everywhere. How realistic this is, we are yet to see.

Corruption is not an easy scourge to exterminate especially when it has become cancerous and malignant. Ours has spread far and wide. What is the President doing? Fighting corruption has become an all-consuming agenda, indeed, perhaps, the only visible agenda that is raking in all attention and headlines. No one knows how much has been recovered, where it is kept and what is being done with the humongous loot. The EFCC is working frenetically on overdrive. I hope they are able to cope with the deluge of cases that keeps unfolding almost on daily basis.

The President also seems to have placed his fate more in the hands of Government technocrats. These civil servants are expected to propel the policy directions of this administration. But is that working as planned and expected? I can’t confidently confirm anything of the sort. I’m almost certain they are already letting down the President. There is no other evidence than the budget conundrum that has left this Federal Government terribly exposed and heavily scandalised. Whoever participated in crafting that horrific document has not done the President any favours. In fact, the budget-drafting team has done incalculable damage to a government that rode to power on the crest of frugality and accountability. Not only is the budget outlandishly profligate it is atrociously hypocritical.

What Nigerians wanted from President Buhari is simple and straight-forward. One, reverse the reckless spending in Abuja and replace it with prudent spending on common-sense capital projects and investments. Two, make corruption unattractive by establishing a workable regime of crime and punishment. Three, tidy up the economy and create a conducive environment for investors and their investments. Four, arrest the perfidious attacks of Boko Haram and make every inch of the Nigerian landscape safer for every citizen or foreigner. Five, upgrade our worthless educational system and create substantial opportunities for our army of unemployed youths. Six, fix our comatose infrastructure and restore aesthetic glory to our environment. Seven, find some veritable alternatives to our over-dependence on a monolithic economy in this season of oil commotion.

Unfortunately, I don’t think some of the disciples are working in tandem with the Commander-in-Chief. Rather, they are skilfully wasting the resources that are so difficult to come by. Worse still, they want Nigeria to mortgage its future by borrowing money to fund their expensive habits. I sincerely beg the President to cancel the rubbish budget and substitute it with one that will reflect the principles and values upon which he was elected. It is better late than never. Nigeria is in bad shape. There is no point pretending to be a wealthy nation when we are miserably poor. We must do what countries like China and India did, invest heavily in education and food production. Education is the greatest leveller and the key that can unlock a prosperous future. Remove hunger out of poverty and you would have killed penury half-way and also energised the people.

I watched in utter amazement as theorists propounded some jejune thesis on how to save the Naira against the US Dollar. They cleverly stood truth on its head by recommending that those sending their children to schools abroad should be ready to pay the full dollar rate. What stupidity? No sensible country plays politics with sound education and good health. Even at a time Nigeria had quality education most of those who later became our elites schooled abroad. They travelled by sea and later by air. Most of them enjoyed government or foreign scholarships. My own Brother left Nigeria as an indigent student in 1965 after his A’levels and returned with a PhD from Stanford University.

Those preaching that Nigerians should remain at home have refused to take care of home. These preachers will still spend public money on sending their own children abroad for studies and vacations. They will go for medical treatment abroad at public expense. Education is a universal phenomenon and no amount spent on it is ever wasted. It is a shame that our politicians and members of the privilegentsia would rather punish Nigerian students abroad instead of cutting their own excesses at home. They would rather we produce half-baked illiterates than offer our youths the opportunity to display their natural wizardry globally.  This is the worst decision any government can make and President Buhari should veto the shenanigan of the carpetbaggers who are trying to sell him a rubbish legacy. What will save Nigeria ultimately is a well-educated citizenry and not the beautiful government houses and bullet-proof cars. I can name thousands of our icons who schooled abroad and returned home with bright ideas needed to grow our economy.

The Chinese and Indians litter everywhere on this planet! You find them as IT gurus today because their governments encouraged them to acquire knowledge from the greatest institutions in the world. Only the children of the poor would be affected by our ill-thought decision while the rich can afford anything, anyhow.  Education would then become the exclusive preserve of the privileged few and those who wish to join them would have to steal to catch up. We should not push our people into more hardship. Paying fees abroad is more verifiable and virtuous than budgeting billions for over-inflated contracts and flights of fancy.

The President should please avoid enemies from every direction. In case he is not aware, Nigeria is tension-soaked at the moment. The change we promised was to reduce and not to escalate hardship. Nigerians are ever willing to make sacrifices if and when the leaders are seen to be reasonable and sincere. As promised, when I met our great leader after he took office, I will continue to advise this government in order to avoid the pitfalls of the past. There are huge challenges but they are not impossible to tackle. The solution is not the type of jamboree and propaganda that certain people are recommending. We finished campaigning with drums and tambourines last year; it is now time to settle down to serious work. Rebranding Nigeria every time a new government comes is shambolic and myopic. There is nothing to campaign about again after election. A beautiful work will always speak for itself.

On a final note this week, the President should fast-forward the war against corruption by recovering as much loot as possible very urgently. We should decrease the raucous and riotous drama surrounding the corruption crusade by revving up the substance of the war and establishing our goals and destination. When tomorrow comes, no one would ask how many people were jailed but everyone would always remember the hunger that ravaged the land in the time of Lagbaja.

It is the bitter truth.

Sunday Oliseh in Alleged Witch Craft Mess.

 

 As the zero hour approaches for the must win double header AFCON qualifier against the Pharaohs of Egypt on March 23, it can revealed the real reasons why coach Sunday Oliseh may continue to tinker the Eagles from his base in Belgium.

After contracting a virus in one of his official assignments, camp sources informed that the former Juventus player has alleged occultic manipulations by his enemies on his life and has vowed to flee far from the country to where they could not fly to attack him.l

“He is always scared in camp and suspicious of even members of his back room staff”, a close source to the team informed.

The source said that the outspoken coach allegedly confronted his staff and warned them that there were many witches and wizards who were trying to undermine the success of the Eagles.

“He warned those fond of putting their hands in their pockets before shaking him to desist or keep their handshakes as he feared they touch objects concealed in their pockets before offering to shake him”, the source said. Also, the coach alleged that many of the people surrounding him do not believe in the success of the team as he claimed that they don’t rejoice when the Eagles score goals.

Beyond the trivial accusations of witches and wizards, Sports it was also gathered that the coach had written to the federation to pay his outstanding N10 million accommodation fee as agreed in his contract(N5 million for 2015 and another N5 million for 2016) if they want him to reside in Nigeria as he said he would not stay in the hotels when the Super Eagles are not in camp.