Policemen, families escape death as Lagos barracks collapse

Some policemen and their families escaped being crushed on Monday night when a two-storey building in the Pedro Police Barracks, Somolu, Lagos, collapsed.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the building, which served as the kitchen, bathroom and toilet extension, collapsed at about 8.30pm when most of the residents were in their sitting rooms and bedrooms.

A resident, who identified herself simply as Faith, explained that the collapse was not surprising considering the dilapidated state of the barracks.

Faith, wife of a sergeant in the barracks, said, “It was around 8.30pm yesterday (Monday) evening. We just heard a rumble as if an earthquake had occurred. When we rushed out, we saw that a two-storey building, which is an extension of the main building, had collapsed with the staircases. We were using the collapsed building as our bathrooms and toilets, while a two-bedroom apartment on the ground floor was occupied by two families. What saved us was that many people were already in their sitting rooms and bedrooms. Otherwise, there would have certainly been casualties.

“The noise was so loud that the people living outside the police barracks came in to see whether an explosion had taken place. For now, some of us have started packing because we do not know which building is the next. As you can see, the state of the buildings are not different from one another.”

Our correspondent, who was at the site of the collapse on Tuesday , gathered that no fewer than 27 families were affected by the incident. According to the residents, each family has at least four members.

About 25 residents from different families were seen bringing out their property down through some ropes since the staircases had collapsed. While this went on, others were seen trying to recover lost property in the debris.

Another resident, who identified himself as Charles Averikson, urged the Federal Government to renovate the buildings in the barracks.

He said, “We want the government to come to our rescue. This building is the first victim of government’s negligence, we do not know which is the next. You can see that people are already packing out because we suspect another collapse. I was born and brought up here. You know collapses are common, especially as we enter the rainy season. We thank God the building did not collapse in the morning during our bath.

“Unfortunately, it is not that we do not pay. About N20,000 is being deducted from my dad’s salary every month. We also pay electricity and water bills. Why then should government neglect and fail to maintain the buildings here?”

When our correspondent left the area by 1.30pm, a rescue van belonging to the National Emergency Management Agency came into the barracks. Three officials of the agency then proceeded to the collapsed structure to evaluate the extent of damage.

The Nigeria Police Force Police Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, could not be reached on the telephone and a text message sent to the phone had yet to be replied as of press time.

The NEMA spokesperson, South-west Zone, Ibrahim Farinloye, said efforts were on to evacuate the residents.

He said, “A building collapsed at the Pedro Police Station Barracks. No one was trapped and there was no casualty. The occupants of a block of 27 units, who are families of serving police officers, have been evacuated. The building collapsed due to its weak structure.”

Girls’ abduction: Military arrests key suspect

The Special Forces have arrested a top intelligence operative of the Boko Haram sect. The suspect is believed to have spearheaded the abduction of the female students of Government Secondary, Chibok, on April 14, 2014, the Defence Headquarters said in a statement on Monday.

The statement by the Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, named the Boko Haram operative as Babuji Ya’ari, said to be a businessman and leader of a youth vigilance group, popularly known as the Civilian JTF.

Olukolade said Ya’ari also spearheaded the murder of the Emir of Gwoza, Idrissa Timta, who was killed by insurgents at Tesan Alade, along the Biu-Garkida Road on May 30, 2014.

He said that Ya’ari used his membership of the Civilian JTF to gather information to aid the activities of the insurgents.

He said that the arrested Boko Haram spy chief was responsible for the coordination of several devastating attacks on military formations and the detonation of several bombs in Maiduguri since 2011.

The statement read, “A terrorists’ intelligence cell headed by a businessman who participated actively in the abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok has been busted by troops.

“The man, Babuji Ya’ari, who is also a member of the Youth Vigilante Group, popularly known as Civilian JTF, which he uses as cover while remaining an active terrorist, also spearheaded the murder of the Emir of Gwoza.

“His main role in the group is to spy and gather information for the terrorist group.

“Babuji has been coordinating several deadly attacks in Maiduguri since 2011, including the daring attacks on Customs and military locations as well as the planting of IEDs in several locations in the town.”

Olukolade said that the businessman gave the information that led to the arrest of the female members of the cell, including one Hafsat Bako, who was said to have escaped to Gombe State to avoid being arrested but was tracked down by security agents.

The Defence Spokesman said that the female Boko Haram member confessed to the coordination of payment for insurgents on the payroll of Boko Haram.

According to him, Bako confessed that a minimum of N10,000 was paid to each of the operatives, depending on the weight of the task assigned to them.

Olukolade also said that the Special Forces were holding another female member of the sect, Haj Kaka, said to be an armourer and a spy for the group.

He said that the arrested terror suspect actively operated a terrorists’ intelligence cell in collaboration with others still at large.

The Defence Spokesman added that the Special Forces had an encounter with some insurgents at Goniri, Yobe State, and repelled them.

Although Olukolade did not give details of casualties, he said that the attack resulted in casualties on both sides.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the Sunday attacks on communities near Chibok, Borno State, rose on Monday to 53.

Suspected Boko Haram members had invaded Kwada, Katagau and Kautikari villages, all in the Chibok Local Government Area early on Sunday, setting churches ablaze and gunning down worshippers.

Forty-eight people were confirmed dead on Sunday night but reports from Chibok on Monday indicated that the death toll had risen to 53 with some of the injured victims losing the battle to stay alive.

Insurgents on April 14 had abducted well over 200 female pupils of the Government Secondary School in Chibok.

Two weeks ago, the insurgents wrote to the council officials and promised to launch another offensive on the community.

The PUNCH learnt on Monday that residents of the affected communities were fleeing from their homes in droves because they were afraid that the terrorists would come back.

“Residents are fleeing from neighbouring villages into Chibok Local Government secretariat for fear of further attacks from the insurgents,” Ishaya Ibrahim, a resident of one of the affected villages near Chibok, said.

Ibrahim said residents of about 10 villages had decided to flee from their homes following the attacks on Kwada, Katagau and Kautikari.

“I and the others fled to Chibok when we heard rumours that they would come back and we don’t know the next point of attack. Everybody is running to Chibok now. There is even no more space for people to stay inside the local government secretariat; people are now sleeping on mats under trees with their little children,” he said.

Ibrahim, who spoke to one of our correspondents on the telephone, claimed that the gunmen wore army uniforms when they attacked a church in Kwada.

He said, “They brought out all the men inside the church and started shooting them, while they chased after anyone that tried to run away with a motorcycle. They also opened fire on everybody in the town as they were running away.

“As of yesterday (Sunday), they killed 31 people inside a church and killed others outside. In the evening, we found other dead bodies inside the bush. On Sunday, the soldiers refused to go to the scene of the attack until after the insurgents had left the place. There is no security presence in Chibok.”

Another indigene claimed that although the military deployed men in five Hilux trucks after they were notified of the attack, they were not able to stop the killings.

He said, “This is the most annoying thing. Two kilometres from where the attack was going on, the military just parked their vehicles under a tree and stayed there after they heard the insurgents’ shooting. And when the fighter jet came, the insurgents moved into people’s houses and stayed there. The jet hovered over them for some time and didn’t see any movement. But instead of the security agents to take advantage of that time and move in, and start rescuing people, they didn’t and later turned back.

“So, we wonder what the Nigerian Army is doing in Chibok. If our people call for us to arm ourselves, they would say that we are criminals. Had it been a few members of our vigilante groups were armed with AK-47 rifles, we believe they might have done something better on Sunday in trying to save some people’s lives.”

Curiously, the Coordinator, National Information Centre, Mike Omeri, said that the Federal Government was not aware of the threat by Boko Haram that it would attack communities around Chibok.

Omeri, who said this on Monday while responding to questions on the preventive measures taken by security operatives against the attacks on Kautikari, Kwada and Karagau villages, denied knowledge of the threat by the violent sect to attack the communities.

He said, “We are not aware of Boko Haram threat letter to the communities. Boko Haram came to the villages, but the security agencies mobilised during the attack and repelled them and also killed a number of the insurgents.

“The insurgents are showing a lot of desperation, which means that they are nearing their end.”

Omeri denied that the push against terrorism was being sabotaged. He said nobody was toying with the campaign to contain the insurgents.

He stressed that the security forces had all the necessary arms and ammunition as well as equipment and resources they needed to combat the Boko Haram insurgency.

“Nobody is toying with the campaign against terrorism; all the systems have a way of checking themselves,” he added.

Omeri had during a press briefing by NIS on June 18 said the armed forces and security services were not only acting on letters but all possible leads and information available to them.

He had said, “They are acting to ensure that all of us, whether in Chibok or outside Chibok, are safe. The same intensity of alertness, the same intensity of operation is also established around the area to ensure that the threat is thwarted if ever it exists.”

Boko Haram: Confab delegate receives attack notice

A revelation by a member of the National Conference that he had received a threat message from terrorists caused a scare at the confab on Monday.

The delegate, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), told the conference that he received a message on his telephone threatening an “attack bigger than Nyanya blast” and sought the permission of the Chairman of the confab, Justice Idris Kutigi (retd.), to read the message.

Kutigi granted the permission and Ozekhome accordingly read the text.

The message, which Ozekhome also forwarded to our correspondent later, read, “News got to us that our enemy is planning something bigger than Nyanya blast between Tuesday and Wednesday, in Abuja. Mind your movement and be careful. The date is still unknown. Please, pass it around to save loved ones.”

After listening to the text of the message, one of the delegates, who asked not to be named, shouted, “We are in trouble in this country. Bombing everywhere; when will this stop? Even here, we don’t know what is going to happen. Things are so bad in the country. Things are so bad.”

Many of the delegates were seeing discussing the development in hushed tones but with panic on their faces.

None of them was willing to speak with The PUNCH on the matter on Monday.

Another delegate, Obi Onoliefo, had on Thursday last week, raised the issue of safety of delegates when, having looked at the perimeter of the National Judicial Institute, observed that there were no security operatives manning them.

Onoliefo, therefore, called for security operatives to be drafted to the perimeter fences to forestall insurgents from breaking into the premises and causing bloodshed.

Meanwhile, some hoodlums suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect invaded the Shani Local Government Area of Borno State on Monday and torched the Divisional Police Station, houses and shops.

It was learnt that the insurgents used Improvised Explosive Devices and petrol bombs.

The Caretaker Chairman of the council, Alhaji Modu Walama, who was said to have escaped a series of attacks by assassins and terrorists in recent past, narrowly escaped being killed by the terrorists.

The insurgents were said to have attacked the family house of Walama in Walama and killed one of his sons.

One of our correspondents learnt that the terrorists invaded Shani on motorcycles and bombed the divisional police headquarters at about 2:45pm on Monday.

The policemen on duty had fled before the attackers reached the station.

They were said to have snatched one of the patrol vehicles belonging to the police and set it ablaze after they discovered that the vehicle’s engine was faulty.

The gunmen reportedly moved from the police station into the town and shot sporadically before fleeing towards the Gwaskara village.

Shani is the southern part of the troubled Borno State and about 245 kilometres drive from Maiduguri, the state capital. It shares boundary with some parts of Adamawa State.

A resident of Shani, Mallam Aliyu Usman, who was among those who fled the town during the attack, told journalists that they got news of the terrorists lurking around the town at about 8am.

He said some women sighted the criminals on their farmlands around Walama, on the outskirts of the town.

The terrorists were said to have scared the women off their farms, telling them that they had a deadly mission to execute in some places in Shani.

All efforts to get the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Gideon Jubrin, for confirmation was not successful as his phone line was inaccessible as of the time of filing this report.

Nigeria's Second Republic Former Minister Of Transport, Umaru Dikko Is Dead

 

Nigeria’s Second Republic  Minister of Transport, Alhaji Umaru Dikko has died this morning in the United Kingdom.

His family in London and Zaria in Kaduna state confirmed  news of his passing to SaharaReporters.

Dikko has been ill for several months; however, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)   forced him to chair the party’s disciplinary committee set up by ousted chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur last year.

One of his close associate told this medium last year that Dikko accepted the job at the risk of his life.

Mr. Dikko was popularly known as one of the most powerful ministers under the Shehu Shagari regime in the early 1980s. When the military ousted the regime via a coup d’etat in 1983, Mr. Dikko escaped to the UK on exile. The military regime led by then head of state, Muhammadu Buhari, accused Dikko of massive corruption and official graft and thus secretly organized his kidnapping from the streets of London.

In 1984, Mr. Dikko was kidnapped, drugged and packaged as a diplomatic baggage in a cargo ready to be shipped to Lagos Nigeria unconscious.  His abductors were later arrested by the UK police as they tried to ship him through Stansed airport in London.

Dikko later returned to Nigeria where he has since participated in politics. He was aged 78.

Davido wins Best African Act at the 2014 BET Awards

If there's any artist who deserves all the awards he's been getting lately, it's Davido. He really puts effort into his craft. He beat Tiwa Savage, South Africa’s Mafikizolo, Ghana’s Sarkodie, Tanzania’s Diamond Platnumz and Togo’s Toofan to win the 2014 BET Awards Best African Act

Photo: Politicians and bags of rice...guess it's the new strategy!

Over the weekend, former Zamfara State governor Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi, who is planning to contest again as Governor of the state in 2015, shared bags of rice to his people for Ramadan, making sure to let them know that he's contesting again.

Shinkafi was governor of Zamfara State in 2007 to 2011 and was Aisha Babaginda's second husband.

Boko Haram kills 48, burns churches near Chibok

Insurgents on Sunday launched attacks on three villages near Chibok in Borno State, setting ablaze five churches and killing no fewer than 48.

In the offensive, which was said to have lasted for about four hours, the terrorists attacked churches during Sunday worship, shot at worshippers and set the church buildings ablaze.

A resident said, ‘‘Boko Haram stormed Kautikari, Kwada and Karagau villages early in the morning at about 8.45am.

“The attackers locked worshippers inside the church and rained bullets on them.”

The source said 30 persons were shot dead in Kwada while about nine were killed in Karagau.

According to the source, no fear than nine worshippers were killed inside the Kautikari EYN church.

A youth leader in the area, Mr. Moses Zakwa, who spoke to one of our correspondents, said, “The communities that were attacked are Kwada, Kautikari and Karagau, all in the Chibok Local Government Area. As of now, over 20 persons have been confirmed dead, 10 of which I know personally.

“My cousin and one of my uncles were among those killed. He had three wives and over 20 children and he was killed in cold blood. The attack started around 8.00am and it lasted for over four hours

“The gunmen also opened fire on worshippers in a church service. People have not been sleeping at home. Some have run into the nearby bush to hide because their lives are at risk.”

Zakwa is the president of the Kibaku Youth Association.

Another Chibok indigene, Manasseh Allen, also confirmed the attack in a telephone chat with our correspondent.

“We need divine help,” he said, adding that Kautikari is the second largest town in Chibok council area.

A member of the Borno State House of Assembly, representing Chibok constituency, Mr. Aimu Foni, also toldThe PUNCH, “It’s obvious this was a Boko Haram attack because three days ago, they threatened to attack.”

The attack on Kwada, Karagau and Kautikari villages came exactly 74 days after members of the terrorist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, abducted well over 200 pupils of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, on April 14.

The insurgents had two weeks ago written to the council area that they would attack it again.

Indigenes on Sunday listed the churches burnt down in the attacked communities to include a branch of the Deeper Life Christian Ministry, COCIN and EYN.

“They (the insurgents) killed and burnt down houses after they had attacked worshippers in five churches in Kwada, and advanced to Kautikari less than eight kilometres to Chibok town, killing and burning down people’s houses and properties,” another indigene, Malam Yahi, told one of our correspondents on the phone from Chibok.

“As of now we do not know about the efforts of the security agents, whether they are on ground or not but all our people, those who can flee have run into the bush and are being pursued by the murderers,” Yahi added.

A top local government official in Chibok town, who did not want his name published, told journalists on Sunday afternoon that “our people have fled into the bushes and we can only appeal that security men are immediately drafted to the town and environs.”

He complained that on receipt of the threat letter two weeks back, they had gone to the police to seek maximum protection but that the police authorities had told them then that they had logistic problem.

The attacks on the area caused apprehension even in the state capital, Maiduguri, as some of the indigenes of Chibok in the town were said to be making panic phone calls to their relations back home.

Most of the churches in Maiduguri were also said to have embarked on prayer sessions, asking for God’s intervention after receiving the news of ongoing attacks on their home community.

There was no word from security agents on the fresh attack on Chibok as of the time of this report.

In a related development, Sunday worship in Abuja churches were said to have been filled with testimonies by survivors of last Wednesday’s bombing of the EMAB Plaza in Wuse II area of the Federal Capital City.

Twenty one persons were killed in the blast that rocked the shopping mall. One of the dead victims of the blast is the Managing Editor (North) of the New Telegraph, Malam Suleiman Bissala.

One of our correspondents reported instances of long queues of testifiers in many Pentecostal churches in the city, with many of them narrating how they were divinely saved from death.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army on Sunday beefed up security on Abuja major highways to forestall another blast in the nation capital.

Our correspondent observed that soldiers had set up checkpoints on the airport road and in the central area of the city, checking contents in the boots of vehicles.

The development slowed down traffic in the areas but motorists expressed satisfaction with the stop – and – search arrangement, which they claimed would further curb the activities of the insurgents.

A cab driver, Mr. Ibrahim Bello, noted that apart from the fact that the presence of the soldiers on the road would scare bombers, the action would also minimise speeding, which he said remained the major cause of accidents on the highways