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The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria has announced a ban on the use of underage herders and night grazing in Kwara State.

The National President, MACBAN, Alhaji Baba Othman-Ngelzarma, announced this decision during the inauguration of the state’s new executive in Ilorin on Sunday.

Othman-Ngelzarma highlighted the importance of fostering peaceful coexistence between farmers and herders, urging the new executive to prioritize maintaining harmony.

“We have instructed our members and the new executive to ensure that there is mutual understanding between pastoralists and farmers in Kwara State. No one should trespass on farmland or allow underage boys to graze cattle at night. This is unacceptable,” he stated.

He condemned night grazing as a practice often used to incite conflict. “Anyone engaging in night grazing is intentionally stirring up trouble. We do not support this practice, and if we catch anyone involved, we will personally hand them over to the security agencies for appropriate action,” he added.

Othman-Ngelzarma acknowledged the value of both farmers’ and pastoralists’ livelihoods, noting that a cow is as precious to a pastoralist as crops are to a farmer.

He also commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for establishing the Ministry of Livestock, a development he believes will significantly benefit the economy.

“We have been advocating for this ministry for decades, and we appreciate President Tinubu for establishing it. If properly managed, it will transform the economy, attract foreign exchange, and save the country over $2 billion in importation costs,” he said.

Addressing the broader issue of insecurity, which he described as complex and involving criminal activities like kidnapping and banditry, Othman-Ngelzarma called for a united approach to tackle the problem.

“Criminality is criminality. Everyone involved should be treated equally. It is unfair to treat some differently in other parts of the country. We must all come together, including the media, to solve this problem,” he asserted.

He urged traditional rulers, security agencies, and non-state actors to clearly define their roles in addressing security challenges.

Source: Punch

Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has begun the distribution of the Federal Government donated food relief items to over 10,000 families in the Mafa Local Government Area of the state.

The distribution took place on Tuesday in four centres at Mafa town, the headquarters of the local government area. Each of the 10,000 heads of households received a relief package comprising one bag of maize grain.

Zulum thanked the Federal Government for the intervention and noted that some of the food items were distributed in Gwoza and Nganzai.“This food item constitutes the last batch of those donated by the Federal Government to the state. You can remember that we shared similar food items in Gwoza and Nganzai a few months ago,” Zulum said.

Meanwhile, Zulum has also begun the distribution of N150m to 15,000 females in Mafa town.In addition to the cash support, Zulum also distributed wrappers procured by the Borno State Government.

Each of the over 15,000 females will receive a package comprising N10,000 cash and one wrapper. “Each female head of household will receive a wrapper and a sum of N10,000 through our Microfinance Bank,” the governor stated.

Source: Punch

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned after weeks of deadly anti-government protests as thousands of people stormed her official residence, demanding she step down.

Ms Hasina, 76, had already left the country to a “safer place”, one of her advisers said, before crowds arrived at her palace The resignation came a day after at least 90 people were killed and hundreds injured in a new round of demonstrations.

The unrest in Dhaka and elsewhere began with a demand to abolish quotas in civil service jobs but escalated into a mass anti-government movement.Entrances to Dhaka were blocked on Monday, with army units and police deployed across the city.

The internet was also completely shut down before being restored a few hours later The government had also announced a three-day “holiday” – widely interpreted as a curfew – which closed down businesses and the courts.

However, this did not stop tens of thousands of people from converging on the city, heeding a call by protest leaders to start a “long march to Dhaka”. Anger was high following the deaths – mostly of protesters – on Sunday.

Both police and some supporters of the governing party were seen shooting at anti-government protesters with live ammunition. Police also used tear gas and rubber bullets.

Thirteen police officers were also killed on Sunday when thousands of people attacked a police station in the district of Sirajganj, police said. Two more police died of their injuries on Monday following the attack. Elsewhere there were reports of several more protesters being killed.

The total death toll from weeks of unrest now stands at some 300, most of them protesters shot by security forces. Mobile operators received orders from the government to shut off their 4G services on Monday, reports said.The country is “again in the midst of a near-total national internet shutdown after earlier social media and mobile cuts”, said NetBlocks, a watchdog that monitors internet freedom.

On 18 July, the Bangladeshi government had also switched off the country’s mobile internet in an attempt to quell the protests. Broadband connectivity was restored a week later, while mobile internet services came back online days after. But neither the internet blackout nor an indefinite nationwide curfew imposed on Sunday have hindered the protesters across Bangladesh.

On Monday, thousands of protesters started marching in Uttara, a suburb of Dhaka, chanting and demanding Ms Hasina’s resignation – under the watchful eye of army personnel and police officers who have been stationed across various points in the capital.

Amid calls for her resignation, Ms Hasina initially sounded defiant. Speaking after a meeting with security chiefs on Monday, she said the protesters were “not students but terrorists who are out to destabilise the nation”. On Sunday, Law and Justice Minister Anisul Huq told the BBC’s Newshour programme that authorities were showing “restraint”.

“If we had not shown restraint, there would have been a bloodbath. I guess our patience has limits,” he added.Deaths and injuries have also been reported across the country, including the northern districts of Bogra, Pabna and Rangpur. On Sunday, thousands of people gathered in a main square in Dhaka and there were violent incidents in other parts of the city.

“The whole city has turned into a battleground,” a policeman, who asked not to be named, told the AFP news agency. He said a crowd of several thousand protesters had set fire to cars and motorcycles outside a hospital.

Asif Mahmud, a leading figure in the nationwide civil disobedience campaign, called on protesters to march on Dhaka on Monday. “The time has come for the final protest,” he said.

Students Against Discrimination, a group behind the anti-government demonstrations, urged people not to pay taxes or any utility bills. The students have also called for a shutdown of all factories and public transport.

Around 10,000 people have been reportedly detained in a major crackdown by security forces in the past two weeks. Those arrested included opposition supporters and students.

Some ex-military personnel have expressed support for the student movement, including ex-army chief General Karim Bhuiyan, who told journalists: “We call on the incumbent government to withdraw the armed forces from the street immediately.

He and other ex-military personnel condemned “egregious killings, torture, disappearances and mass arrests”.The protests began when students took to the streets last month over a quota that reserved one third of civil service jobs for relatives of the veterans of Bangladesh’s independence war with Pakistan in 1971.

Most of the quota has now been scaled back by the government following a Supreme Court ruling, but students have continued to protest, demanding justice for those killed and injured, and for Ms Hasina to step down.

Earlier, Ms Hasina offered unconditional dialogue with the student leaders “I want to sit with the agitating students of the movement and listen to them. I want no conflict,” she said.

But the student protesters have rejected that offer. Bangladeshi media say most of those killed in last month’s protests were shot dead by police. Thousands were injured. The government has argued that police opened fire only in self-defence and to protect state properties.

Source: BBC

The Rivers state police command has arrested a man in the Omoku council headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of the state.

The man identified as Felix Nwaobokata is the immediate past commander of the local vigilante group, popularly known as ONELGA Security and Peace Advisory Committee (OSPAC).

According to a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, Rivers State Police Command, SP Grace Koko, said Nwaobokata had two human skulls and bones in his possession at the time of arrest.

Nwaobokata was arrested alongside three others following accusations of abducting a member of the Hausa community in Omoku.

Koko said the arrest was part of a clampdown on the excesses of OSPAC in Omoku and other parts of the state.

The Rivers State Police Command has commenced a clampdown on the excesses of Vigilante Groups operating within the State.

This follows numerous complaints about the operations of the ONELGA Security and Peace Advisory Committee (OSPAC) in different parts of the State, predominantly in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA (ONELGA), as well as clashes with other Security Agencies by this Vigilante Group.

On May 9th, 2024, Alhaji Usman Seleh, the Chairman of the Hausa Indigenous Group in ONELGA, reported that OSPAC had abducted a member of his group. He proceeded to report the matter to the Police.

Consequently, the Police invited the ONELGA OSPAC Commander, Felix Nwaobakata, who refused to honour several invitations.

Instead, the OSPAC outfit coordinated an attack on the Police Division in Omoku but the attack was thwarted as the Police repelled them.

Following this development, Tactical Units of the Command stormed the ONELGA OSPAC Camp at Omoku and arrested Cheta Benjamin, Joshua Ekwosa, Innocent Ahiakwu, and four others. The ONELGA OSPAC Commander, Felix Nwaobakata, was subsequently arrested in his hideout in Omoku on June 17th, 2023, where two human skulls and human bones were found in his possession.

The arrested OSPAC Commander, Felix Nwaobakata, is also a principal suspect in the murder of two brothers, Collins Ugorji (32) and Newman Ugorji (39), of the Idu Community in ONELGA. The brothers were killed on May 1st, 2024, by the OSPAC on the allegation that they were kidnappers. Their motorcycles were confiscated, and their bodies were taken to the OSPAC Secretariat in Omoku and received by Felix Nwaobakata after residents lamented their criminal actions. The bodies of the brothers were not seen, and the investigation is ongoing.

In another related incident, on May 31st, 2024, the Youths of Egbeda Community in Emuoha LGA staged a peaceful protest to Lubrik Construction Company (LCC) at Egbeda, and after being addressed by the Police, they dispersed but were ambushed by a group of OSPAC members led by the Egbeda OSPAC Commander, Friday Ogbuji, who shot and killed the Youth Leader, Innocent Didia.

The Rivers State Police Command has made further arrests and will continue to investigate these cases and other related ones, which will then be charged to a Court of competent Jurisdiction. The Rivers State Commissioner of Police Cp Olatunji Disu has advised that any resident who has complaints of assault, extortion, or illegal detention should make a report at the nearest police station.

The Rivers State Command is committed to carrying out its duty of protecting lives and property. It will not tolerate any act of illegality, excessive use of force, torture, fraudulent conversion of properties, and other varying forms of criminality by the OSPAC or any other vigilante outfit. While recognising the relevance and importance of these vigilante groups in the Community Policing System, with regards to information gathering and visibility, among others, the Command will keep engaging and synergizing with these groups on what is expected of them and their limitations.

The rights of all as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended must be respected. The Rivers State Command wants to reassure the public and all key stakeholders that it will continue to work within the ambit of the law and issue a stern warning to any individual or group who chooses to operate outside the scope of the law.

Source: Channels

Police authorities in Kaduna State have arrested a 70-year-old man suspected bandit in Zaria. Three others were also nabbed. 

The suspect, one Hussaini from Tudunjukun in Zaria, was nabbed by operatives attached to Tudun Wada Zaria Division following credible intelligence information about his suspicious movement.

Disclosing this in a statement on Tuesday, the state Public Relations Officer, Mansir Hassan, said an AK-47 rifle, a locally made pistol, and three cartridges were recovered from him.

“Following credible intelligence information about suspicious movement of an armed bandit, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Tudun Wada Zaria Division led a swift action resulting in the arrest of one Hussaini, male, 70 years old, from Tudunjukun in Zaria,” the statement read.

“The arrest took place at about 0250 hours. During the operation, an AK-47 rifle, a locally made pistol, and three cartridges were recovered from the suspect.

“The suspect is helping the police Investigations to apprehend his accomplice and will be charged in court as soon investigation is completed.”

Three suspected notorious kidnappers said to have been terrorising residents of the North-West region were also arrested.

The police spokesman said the suspects who have taken part in several kidnappings and cattle rustling in the zone were arrested by a joint team of police operatives from Saminaka Division and local hunters in Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

He identified the suspects as Isah Baffa Rabo from Maibindiga Village in Lere LGA, Ja’afaru Sale from Durumi Village, Lere LGA, and Umar Musa, from Durumi Village also in Lere LGA.

According to the police spokesman, the suspects had confessed to being a part of a kidnapping syndicate in Lere LGA and admitted to stealing cattle, which they sold to one  Idris Abubakar who was also arrested, while some exhibits such as a locally made single-barrel gun,  a cutlass, and three mobile phones were recovered from the suspects.

Source: Channels

Two health workers in the Edo State Primary Healthcare Development Agency have been killed in a road accident in the state.

DAILY POST reports that the health workers are Mrs Mary Oseikhuemen, a nurse, and Mrs. Juliet Idialu, a health attendant attached to Esan West Local Government Area.

The nurse also lost her four-month-old baby in the accident, while four other staff sustained various degrees of injuries. Two of the injured staff have been discharged, while two others are still in intensive care.

DAILY POST also reports that the accident occurred on Thursday, May 16, 2024, along the Benin-Auchi road when an articulated truck ran into the vehicle they were traveling in. The health workers were returning to their station in Esan West Local Government after an official assignment in Benin City.

The Edo State Head of Service, Barrister Anthony Okungbowa, disclosed this during a condolence visit to the families of the deceased and to sympathize with those receiving treatment at the hospital, describing the incident as unfortunate.

Okungbowa, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Directorate of Human Resources Management, Mr George Igberase, alongside the Executive Secretary of the Edo State Primary Health Care Development Agency (EDSPHCDA), Dr. Omosigho Izedonmwen, said the state government would compensate the families of the late staff.

He said the government would cover the medical bills of those receiving treatment at the hospital and also ensure that the entitlements of the deceased are promptly processed.

“We are here to condole with the families of our staff who died in a road accident recently. We visited the Oseikhuemen and Idialu families to condole with and pray for them. The Oseikhuemen family lost a mother and a baby. We prayed that such an incident would never happen again to the family.

“All I want to say is that Mr. Governor and the state government will not abandon them at this moment of grief. “The two staff of EDSPHCDA came to Benin for an official assignment, and on their way back, they had that accident.

“We also visited the hospital to see those who were injured, and we are very happy that some of them have been discharged while those still there are doing well and are stable. The governor has said that the state government will cover their medical bills,” he said.

On his part, Omosigho Izedonmwen, the Executive Secretary of EDSPHCDA, described the late staff as very hardworking individuals who put in their best while they were in service.

Izedonmwen said the deceased were working at the Esan West Local Government Area of the agency before the unfortunate incident.

The late Mrs Mary Oseikhuemen, along with her four-month-old baby, leaves behind two other children and a husband, while Juliet Idialu, a health assistant, is survived by four children.

Source: Daily Post

United States President Joe Biden’s administration paused a shipment of weapons to Israel last week in opposition to apparent moves by its forces to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a senior administration official has said.

Biden has been trying to head off a full-scale assault by the Israelis against Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge from fighting elsewhere in the Gaza Strip.

The AFP, Reuters and The Associated Press news agencies on Tuesday quoted unnamed US officials as saying Washington began to “carefully review proposed transfers of particular weapons to Israel that might be used in Rafah” in April when it seemed Israel appeared close to making a decision on the assault.

“As a result of that review, we have paused one shipment of weapons last week. It consists of 1,800 2,000-pound [907kg] bombs and 1,700 500-pound [227kg] bombs,” one official reportedly said.

“We are especially focused on the end-use of the 2,000-lb bombs and the impact they could have in dense urban settings as we have seen in other parts of Gaza. We have not made a final determination on how to proceed with this shipment,” the official was quoted as saying. The news agencies said he spoke on condition of anonymity given the issue’s sensitivity.

Reuters reported that four sources said the shipments, which have been delayed for at least two weeks, involved Boeing-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), which place precision guidance systems onto bombs, as well as Small Diameter Bombs.

Quoting unnamed officials, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Tuesday that the US had delayed the shipment of some 6,500 JDAMs. The delay comes at a time when Washington is publicly pressuring Israel to postpone its planned offensive in Rafah until it has taken steps to avert civilian casualties.The White House and the Pentagon declined to comment on the shipment delays.

Withholding arms from Israel

Biden on Monday held a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and stressed US opposition to a ground offensive in Rafah, according to the White House.

But in the early hours of Tuesday, just hours after Hamas, the group that runs Gaza, said it had accepted a ceasefire proposal put forward by international mediators, Israeli forces seized control of the Rafah border crossing.

Without addressing whether there had been a hold-up in arms shipments, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reaffirmed that Washington’s commitment to Israel’s security was “ironclad”.

Still, when asked about the reports on the arms delays, she added: “Two things could be true, in the sense of having those conversations, tough, direct conversations with our counterparts in Israel … in making sure citizens lives are protected … and getting that commitment.”

The Pentagon said on Monday that there had not been a policy decision to withhold arms from Israel, the US’s closest Middle East ally.

The Rafah crossing is crucial for aid and as an escape route for those able to flee into Egypt. Some 1.4 million Palestinians, including more than 600,000 children, are sheltering in the southern city, and the United Nations, US, European Union and international humanitarian organisations have warned an attack would be catastrophic.

Israel’s war on Gaza has left many of Gaza’s 2.3 million people on the brink of starvation and led to protests in the US and other countries demanding that universities and the Biden administration withdraw support for Israel – including the provision of weaponry.

‘A drop in the ocean’

A senior Israeli official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, did not confirm any specific hold-up in arms supplies but appeared to shrug them off: “As the prime minister has already said, if we have to fight with our fingernails, then we’ll do what we have to do.”

However, observers suggest the pause in deliveries is a significant step by the White House, which has exhibited growing impatience with Netanyahu as it has sought to persuade him to rein in the Israeli military push in Gaza and ensure more aid reaches Palestinians.

The US has reiterated many times its opposition to a major assault on Rafah, and Amir Oren, a journalist with the Haaretz newspaper, suggested to Al Jazeera that the reported move was an act of “deterrence”. “Biden had to show Netanyahu that he’s serious,” Oren said.

Mohammed Jamjoom, reporting from Amman in Jordan because Al Jazeera has been closed down in Israel, noted that there has been no official response from the Israeli government.

However, the security establishment is reportedly concerned, he noted, that this is “a tactic by the US to increase pressure on the Israeli government to stop an all-out invasion of Rafah and to accept the terms of a ceasefire”. Israeli officials are reported to be worried, he added, that this is a “harbinger of things to come … if Israel doesn’t start adhering more to what the US wants”.

However, he also noted that the pause of one delivery amounts to a very small percentage of the overall volume of weapons that Washington has been providing to Israel. “This is just a drop in the ocean,” Jamjoom said.

Source: Aljazeera