Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has said bandits have over the years developed escape routes from aerial bombardments.

He said this in an article titled, ‘War Has Never Been A Solution Anytime Anywhere,’ issued following the offensive by the military against bandits and their hideouts in the north.

Gumi also warned that bandits will migrate to other parts of the country from any part that is on fire.

According to him, “By the way, what you may not hear is that the bandits over the years have developed escape routes from aerial bombardments. They told us: you can only kill our women and children with your attacks!

“Just yesterday, two contingents of banditry victims came to me that their loved ones were abducted by bandits in Kaduna suburbs – Rigachukun and Keke.

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“An escapee engineer in the later said when he overheard and understood that they were strangers in the area as they were calling the locals to lead them, that gave him the courage to slip through densely grown maize plantations to escape.

“The point is that, if Zamfara is on fire for them, definitely it goes without saying that they will migrate to other areas. So, is the whole of Nigeria going to be under lock-up in incommunicado?

“As for the economic impact of the areas now under siege, it’s just a matter of time, you’ll hear them crying out.

“Already yesterday a man from Tsafe came begging because of economic stagnation, one would have thought that Gusau the capital is closer than Kaduna to beg.

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“As for those cynics that have no value to add in the dilemma except vituperation, and abuses, we know that is the substance they are made up of. No qualms whatsoever! you don’t expect fragrance from faeces.

“Good Intelligence! Good proficient policing, engagement of the local herdsmen in policing, rehabilitation, reconciliation, and reparation of all victims of banditry.

“The good honest judiciary that protects people’s rights. Money and time well spent on these will surely kill the disease and heal the nation of this delinquency, crimes, and bad governance.”

Bandits have developed escape routes from aerial raids —Gumi

No fewer than ten passengers in a Lagos bound commercial bus have been reportedly abducted between ldoani/ lfira in the Akoko South East area of Ondo state.

Eyewitness account said that the abduction of the travellers occurred at a failed portion of the highway.

Vanguard was informed by a police source that the kidnappers who were Fulani herdsmen reportedly ambushed the commercial Toyota Hiace bus and shot at which forced the driver to stop.

In the process, the passengers reportedly took to their heels while the kidnappers doubled cross them and abducted those that could not escape from the scene at gunpoint.

The report said that no fewer than ten of the passengers were thereafter marched into the forest.

The divisional police officer for Isua Akoko, Hakeem Sadiq said the case had been reported and that the anti-kidnapping unit was on top of the situation.

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Sadiq said that the state police command was working in conjunction with other sister security agencies to ensure that the travellers were rescued.

Reports had it that local hunters and personnel of the state security outfit codenamed Amotekun have been deployed to the community to comb the thick forest.

Speaking with newsmen, a community leader in the area, Chief Boboye Ojomo attributed incessant crime in the axis to the deplorable condition of the federal road from Orita Ipele to Idoani to Ifira and Isua.

Ojomo lamented that the contractor handling the road project had abandoned it for years.

He called on the Federal government to look into all federal roads in the state noting that many of them are now in a state of disrepair.

Contacted, the spokesperson of the state command, Olufunmilayo Odunlami confirmed the abduction of the passengers.

Odunlami however said that only three persons were kidnapped not ten.

According to her ” there was nothing like that. There was actually a kidnap case but three people were kidnapped.

“As I speak to you our anti-kidnapping unit has taken over that case and we expect something positive. So, there was nothing like 18-passengers have been kidnapped in Ondo.

Gunmen abduct 10 Lagos bound passengers in Ondo

President Muhammadu Buhari says he has seen enough to account for the good deeds of Governor Hope Uzodinma.

Buhari stated this on Thursday during his visit to Imo State where he commissioned projects carried out by the Shared Prosperity Administration 

The president said he is fascinated by the Imo State leader’s strides even in the face of unforeseen circumstances.

“I have seen enough that justifies his [Uzodinma] integrity in making sure that he is working very hard to make sure that you get the structures necessary.

“I am very impressed by what he has done because I have gone through the same problems at the Center,” Buhari said.

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He assured the Imo residents that his government will keep encouraging the state within the provisions of the constitution.

While in Imo, President Buhari commissioned a balloon technology-driven underground tunnel with surface drainage (Chukwuka Nwoha), Naze Road, and Nekede/Ihiagwa Road.

Other projects he commissioned were the newly-built Exco Chambers within the Government House known as the Douglas House and the Egbeada Bypass (Amakohia).

He is also expected to be a part of a town hall meeting with leaders from the South-East extraction.

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President Buhari and Hope Uzondinma shaking hands

I Have Seen Enough That Justifies Hope’s Integrity – Buhari

Two splendid diamond bracelets that belonged to French queen Marie-Antoinette will go under the hammer in Geneva later this year, the auction house Christie’s said Wednesday. 

The bracelets, coated with 112 diamonds in total, will be sold together and are estimated to fetch between $2-4 million when they go under the hammer on November 9.

That estimate “includes not only the intrinsic value of the diamonds, but also the possibility to wear jewellery that was once worn by the famous queen Marie-Antoinette,” Christie’s jewellery specialist Marie-Cecile Cisamolo told AFP.

The historic jewels could meanwhile easily go for far more than the asking price.

“As seen in recent Geneva sales, the market for jewels of noble provenance continues to perform extremely well,” Francois Curiel, the chairman of Christie’s luxury division, said in a statement.

In 2018, a natural pearl and diamond pendant that belonged to the ill-fated French queen was estimated by the Sotheby’s auction house at $1-2 million but was snapped up for $36 million.

Marie-Antoinette, the last queen of France before the revolution, was guillotined in Paris in October 1793 at the age of 37.

But Cisamolo said that it was not just their history that made the bracelets extraordinary, pointing to the large size of the diamonds, which range from around one to four carats.

“It is very difficult to measure their exact size, because these are antique diamonds, and back then the sizes were less precise,” she explained.

While lacking the precision of today’s laser-cut gems, Cisamolo stressed the charm and uniqueness of antique diamonds.

In total, Christies estimates that the bracelets comprise 140 to 150 carats.

They are each composed of three rows of gems and can be connected together and worn as a necklace.

According to Christie’s, Marie-Antoinette ordered the bracelets from jeweler Charles August Boehmer in Paris in 1776, two years after she ascended the throne.

She paid 250,000 livres, “a huge sum at the time,” Christies said.

Before attempting to flee France with king Louis XVI and their children, Marie-Antoinette first made sure her jewels were sent out of the country.

They were sent to Brussels, governed by her sister Archduchess Marie-Christine, before being sent on to the French queen’s native Austria, ruled by her nephew, the emperor.

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In 1792, the royal family was imprisoned in Paris. The king and queen were executed the next year, and their 10-year-old son Louis XVII died in captivity.

Only their daughter, Marie Therese of France, survived. She was freed in December 1795 and sent to Austria, where she was given her mother’s jewels.

“These jewels can thus be traced all the way back to Marie-Antoinette,” Cisamolo said, adding that she hoped whoever bought them “will cherish them for the rest of their life.”

“Not only are you wearing something that Marie-Antoinette wore,” she said. “The diamonds are extraordinary.”

The bracelets, she said, showing off the gems glistening on her wrists, “flow. It is as though you are wearing fabric.”

diamond bracelet belonging to Marie-Antionette 

Marie-Antoinette Diamonds Up For Auction In Geneva

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has approved the appointments of new chief executives for some agencies under the Federal Ministry of Education.

The appointments were made known in a statement signed by the Director, Press And Public Affairs, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Bem Goong, on Wednesday.

Goong said the president also approved the reappointment of the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, for a second and final tenure of five years, with effect from August 1.

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Also, Prof. Bashir Usman was reappointed as the Executive Secretary, National Commission For Nomadic Education, for a second and final tenure of five years.

He listed the new appointees as Prof. Akpama Ibar as Executive Secretary, National Commission For Mass Literacy, Adult And Non-Formal Education; Prof. Chinwe Anunobi, Director/Chief Executive Officer, National Library; and Prof. Musa Maitafsir as Director/CEO, National Teachers Institute.

”All the three appointments took effect from the Sept. 2 and would each be for an initial tenure of five years,” he said.

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Buhari makes new appointments in education agencies

Team Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan bounced back from her Tokyo 2020 heartbreak by winning the women’s 100m hurdles in a meeting record at the Kamila Skolimowska meet in Chorzów, Poland yesterday.

The 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist powered to victory at the Stadion Śląski in 12.64s (0.1), well ahead of Olympic Bronze medallist Megan Tapper who ran 12.75s and USA’s Christina Clemons, 3rd in 12.92s.

Amusan was tipped to be on the podium in Tokyo last month after posting some world leading times but could only settle for fourth position in the final which was won by Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. Amusan had earlier produced a brilliant 12.69s seconds to finish second behind Nadine Visser at the Diamond League held in Brussels, Belgium on Saturday.

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Ajebo Lawrence, husband of evicted Big Brother housemate, Tega, disclosed in a live video chat that he is not going to abandon his wife but rather give her a second chance if she apologizes for her actions on the reality Tv show.

Last week, while she was still on the show, Tega set tongues wagging with a video that went viral on which featured her kissing fellow housemate, Boma while in bed.

The married mother-of-one also kissed Boma in front of the housemates and at the executive lounge where he spanked her, leading to rage from the fans.

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Reacting in an interview on Monday, Lawrence said he was surprised at his wife’s behaviour on the show, saying that he can’t leave his house because of the stories on the streets.

“If she comes back and apologises, I will give her a second chance; but if she comes and says what she did was okay, I will let her go and I will move on,” Lawrence noted.

Further into the the discussion, the father of one revealed that his wife, Tega, has been a very good girl and a God-fearing woman, adding that he felt that she (Tega) was cloned and the woman he saw was not the woman he married.

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“Tega is a God-fearing woman. She has never for one day disobeyed me. This is a different Tega I’m seeing. I’m broken. I want that Tega I’m used to know then, not the Tega in Big Brother house.”

“I am just human. I believe we all sin and God forgives us all. I feel if I do anything funny right now, I do not know what will happen. I believe she knows she did was totally bad, but I think she needs us back more than ever,” he added.

He urged Nigerians to pray for his wife, stating that he hasn’t heard from Tega since her eviction from the Big brother house.

BBNaija 2021: Tega is God-fearing, always obedient, Husband

Korra Obidi, a dancer and recording artist in the United States of America, has said it’s hard living outside Nigeria.

Obidi, in a recent Instagram post, opined that it’s hard and expensive living abroad for singles and couples.

“Adulting is hard for married people, let alone, single people. House rent na $5800 per month, bad as e bad, Nigeria still make brain, at least your house na your house,” she said.

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The fitness expert and international model, also spoke on people’s belief about making it in Hollywood saying that it’s not as easy as it looks like on Instagram.

“Come to Hollywood they said, you go blow they said. Keep praying for us o, E no easy as e dey look on top IG. We move.”

Korra is expecting a second child with her husband Justin Dean.

She made the announcement with a video shared on Instagram where she was dancing and her husband came to kiss her baby bump alongside their daughter June Dean.

Nigeria better than US, says dancer, Korra Obidi

The Federal Government has commenced payment of the second phase of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) in Niger to 4,265 beneficiaries in Chanchaga and Suleja Local Government Areas (LGAs).

At the flag-off of the upgraded Household Uplifting Programme, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, stated that phase one beneficiaries would be covered in the ongoing cash distribution.

Represented by Hajiya Hadiza Shiru, Head of Unit, the minister said with the flag-off today, payments would recommence in all the 25 LGAs in the state.

“The digitalisation process was put in place to reduce the stress the beneficiaries go through before being paid and also increases the beneficiaries choice on mode of payment,’’ she said.

The minister explained that the state recorded the highest number of CCT beneficiaries of 80,895, as against 19, 756.

Farouq said the beneficiaries could now approach accredited payment points to collect their stipends in cash or transfer to their existing bank accounts as the new payment plan was opened to the beneficiaries.

“This programme focuses on digitisation and financial inclusion.

“This will enable the beneficiaries to have sustainable transactional accounts to meet the current economic realities,’’ the minister said.

The state focal person, Amina Guar, lauded the commitment of the Federal and State Governments to alleviating the hardship being experienced by the poor and the vulnerable in the state.

Second phase of Conditional Cash Transfer starts in Niger

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will depart Abuja on Thursday for Arusha, Tanzania, on a short visit.

Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.

The vice president will be received in Arusha by his Tanzanian counterpart, Dr Philip Mpango.

While in Arusha, Osinbajo will visit the African Court of Justice and Human Rights (ACJHR), an African Union agency in Arusha, among other engagements.

Nigeria and Tanzania, both former British colonies, have maintained cordial trade and diplomatic relations since the two countries gained independence in 1960 and 1961 respectively.

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Osinbajo departs Abuja for Arusha, Tanzania

Police in Katsina State have arrested 18 suspects in connection with banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling, and other related crimes.

One of the suspects simply identified as Abdullahi Mai-Rafi is a notorious bandit who according to the police conspired with two others and disguised as government officials to commit armed robbery and indulged in the rustling of cattle numbering up to 20.

Prior to his latest arrest, Mai-Rafi had allegedly repented from his old ways and was working with the state government under the office of S.A on Security matters, Ahmad Ibrahim Katsina.

While parading the suspects before the command headquarters on Wednesday in Katsina, the Police spokesman, SP Gambo Isah explained that the trio had on August 11th 2021 at about 11:00hrs, gone to Danmarke forest in Ingawa LGA of the state with a motor vehicle Toyota, Camry, ash in colour, with registration number DE 631 LED, attacked a herder, one Alhaji Gide Suleiman of Malumafashi LGA while grazing his animals.

They attacked him with machetes and sticks, threatened him and his boys that they were from the office of Special Adviser on security to His Excellency, with a false allegation that their brother, one Sa’idu had robbed one Lawal of his herds and that they should either produce the said Sa’idu or bring hundred (100) cows.

“After some scuffles, the suspects succeeded in robbing the said Alhaji Gide Suleiman of his twenty (20) cows valued seven million, five hundred and fifty thousand naira (N7,550,000:00K) with the intention of taking them to the Sa’id Lawal as compensation for his stolen cows as falsely alleged by them.

“They also searched and robbed them of the sum of forty thousand (N40,000:00) naira and four (4) GSM handsets.

“Subsequently, on the 24th of August, the same syndicate of Abdullahi Mai-Rafi and three (3) others, attacked the complainant on the same false allegation and attempted to rob him of another set of twenty cows and some sheep, but nemesis caught up with them when they were rounded up and arrested by the Command.

“In the course of the investigation, suspects confessed to the commission of the offences.

“The Gang leader, Abdullahi Mai-Rafi confessed to have conspired with the others and sold all the cows at Dankama market, Kaita LGA of the state.

“Two cows and the sum of four hundred and forty-four thousand naira were recovered as exhibits from their possessions,” Isah explained.

Furthermore, on the 31st of August 2021, the command also succeeded in arresting one Aminu Adulrazak of Tudun Yan lihidda Quarters, Katsina, based on credible intelligence. This happened while he was conveying 66 jerry cans filled with fuel in an unregistered Peugeot 504 at Kofar Guga Garage believed to be a supply to bandits hibernating in the forest. Interestingly, the suspect divulged that he has engaged in these crooked activities for about fifteen years and confessed to have bought the fuel from one Saminu Rabiu-a transport manager at AK Mai Kwai filling station.

Prior to the above arrests, on August 23rd, 2021 the command succeeded in arresting one Abubakar Abdullahi of Allah Madogara village in Malumfashi LGA of the state who was a notorious suspected kidnapper and informant to bandits. The suspect, Abubakar Abdullahi, was trailed and arrested and confessed during interrogation that he indeed committed all crimes attributed to him and his cohorts (now at large).

Additionally, on the 17th of August 2021, the command- based on a tip-off, succeed in arresting notorious bandits and cattle rustlers, Bala Abdu alias Medele and Halliru Tukur, from Dunkula village, Safana LGA, who terrorize Safana LGA and its environs. In the course of the interrogation, suspect Bala Abdu Medele confessed to have participated in numerous bandit and cattle rustling activities in Safana LGA and its environs.

Also, the command arrested the duo of one Mani Yahaya and Isuhu Usman on the 8th of August 2021, based on a tip-off, which would provide leads for an ongoing investigation. All detained suspects are from Tsaskiye village via Safana LGA Katsina. The duo is strongly suspected to be providing information to the camp of two notorious bandits: Ya`u and Mallam Aibo who are known to be hibernating in Rugu forest and carry out attacks on Tsaskiya and Ummadau village, Safana LGA respectively.

Regardless of the grim reality about crime in the state, and the perpetrators still at large, the police assure the citizens of Katsina state that the criminals arrested based on the aforementioned ongoing investigations would provide leads that can be employed for bringing to book those criminals at large.

Police Arrest Notorious Bandit, 17 Others In Katsina

The government of Ondo state said no particular group of persons is targeted by the law

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu on Tuesday signed the Ondo State anti-open grazing bill into law, Donald Ojogo, the commissioner for information and orientation, has said.

Mr Ojogo said in a statement that the decision was in line with the resolution of the Southern Governors’ Forum at its last meeting in Lagos where September 1st was set as the deadline for governors in southern Nigeria to sign the Anti-Open Grazing Bill into law.

“This is worthwhile and a very laudable development aimed at stemming needless instances of skirmishes, conflicts as well as infractions on the enviably peaceful disposition of the good people of Ondo State,” the statement said.

“It is very pertinent to aver and indeed, reiterate that the law shall rather, engender a more cordial, mutually benefiting relationship amongst residents of the state irrespective of ethnicity, religion or creed. For emphasis, no particular group of persons is the target.”

Mr Akeredolu’s move came three months after the bill passed the third reading in the state house of assembly amidst opposition from the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria.

Other south-west states such as Ogun, Osun, Oyo, and Ekiti have passed the anti-grazing bills.

In July, the 17 southern governors met in Lagos and set a September 1 deadline for their states to enact the anti-open grazing law.

Akeredolu signs anti-open grazing bill into law

Nigerian newspapers,on one page.