Crime
Scores killed in Anti-government protest in Sierra Leone
Scores killed in Anti-government protest in Sierra Leone
By Bodunrin Kayode
Violent anti-government protests has erupted in some parts of the West African state of Sierra Leone leading to a high level of casualties.
The violence which started on Wednesday this reporter learnt was as a result of what some of the residents regard as very harsh policies of President Julius Mada-Bio who has been midwifing the nation since 2028.
Since the country came out of the covid 19 scourge which ravaged Freetown and all the provinces, they alleged that the government did not insert enough palliatives to enable young people get out of the economic crisis the scourge brought on them.
” As a matter of fact, it’s been one problem or the other since President Mada-Bio took charge as commander in Chief but he has been trying his best to insert stability onto the polity because he is in charge of the armed forces and not the chair of the police who were the main target of these demonstrators” said a source who wished to remain anonymous in the Sierra Leone High CommissionA it in Nigeria
Vice President Mohammed Jalloh confirmed in a nation wide broadcast today that there were gruesome casualties on both sides but was unable to be specific while announcing the curfew which started 3pm Freetown time yesterday.
Eye witnesses however told this reporter through phone that the anti-government protesters and police clash started mostly in the Eastern part of the capital and resulted in the death of at least two policemen who were
murdered by the opposition mob as at Wednesday evening.
” The rioters clashed with police in the streets of the East end of the capital due to tensions over the rising cost of living especially food and fuel. It was when the vice president who is the chair of the police gave the directive for the curfew to be effective that the tension heightened.
“But the West end area up to st John and beyond were mostly peaceful as most residents were seen gathered outside their homes discussing the unfolding development before the Government slammed the curfew starting from 3pm to stop the rioters who had started destroying Government properties worth millions of Leones including buses, cars and police stations in the provincial areas.
In his national broadcast on Wednesday, Vice President Mohamed Jalloh confirmed that lives have been lost on both sides of the fracas and that it was the business of Government to keep the peace of the state.
No comment was heard from President Julius Mada-Bio even as most of the protesters on Wednesday were calling for his resignation even before the anticipated general election in ten months time.
Incidentally, Mada Bio was elected President in 2018 and has about 10 months for his first term to end.
He however has already said that registration of new voters will commence on the 3rd of September so that the program for the next general elections can be rolled out accordingly.
Eye witnesses said that the demonstrators chanted “Bio must go” as they made their way from the hinterlands through the capital, Freetown.
The people of Sierra Leone have gone through a litany of lingering woes which includes a decade long war caused mostly by tribalism, outbreak of Ebola which engulfed the entire country resulting in very high casualties and the recent outbreak of corona which resulted in the death of hundreds in the war torn country still rising from the ruins of a civil war that ended in 2002.
Scores killed in Anti-government protest in Sierra Leone
Crime
Army Arrests Boko Haram Drone Supplier, Neutralises Top Commander in Madagali, Adamawa
Army Arrests Boko Haram Drone Supplier, Neutralises Top Commander in Madagali, Adamawa
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of Operation HADIN KAI in coordination with local vigilantes and hunters, have neutralised a top Boko Haram commander and arrested a suspected drone and logistics supplier in separate operations in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

Sources said that at about 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, troops engaged suspected Boko Haram fighters at an ambush along the Visik River line, resulting in the neutralisation of one terrorist identified as Abdullahi Mafa, a former hybrid commander in Madagali.
In a subsequent raid at Madagali Motor Park around 6:30 p.m., the troops arrested 64-year-old Dauda Usman Gubula, a suspected Boko Haram collaborator and drone supplier. Items recovered from the suspect included two aerial drones and 20 solar power banks, officials added.

The suspect is currently in custody undergoing investigation, while troops continue to intensify operations aimed at dismantling Boko Haram networks and restoring security in the region.
Army Arrests Boko Haram Drone Supplier, Neutralises Top Commander in Madagali, Adamawa
Crime
Police repel bandit attack, recover 82 cows and 21 sheep in Katsina
Police repel bandit attack, recover 82 cows and 21 sheep in Katsina
By: Zagazola Makama
The Police Command in Katsina State has successfully repelled a banditry attack in Musawa Local Government Area, recovering stolen livestock.
Sources said at about 4:50 a.m. on Feb. 18 reporting that unidentified armed men had entered Gin-Gin village and rustled livestock.
According to the sources, the DPO coordinated with neighbouring divisions to block possible exit routes between Tuge and Tudu villages in Kankara.
Patrol teams intercepted the suspects and engaged them in a sustained gunfight, forcing the bandits to abandon the stolen animals.
Police said 82 cows and 21 sheep were recovered, while efforts continued to apprehend the fleeing suspects. Further developments would be communicated as the investigation progresses.
Police repel bandit attack, recover 82 cows and 21 sheep in Katsina
Crime
Tragedy in Plateau: Carbon monoxide exposure claims 37 lives at Wase mining site
Tragedy in Plateau: Carbon monoxide exposure claims 37 lives at Wase mining site
By: Zagazola Makama
A tragic accident at a mining site in Zurak, Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State, has left 37 miners dead and 25 others hospitalized after being exposed to carbon monoxide gas while working deep underground.
Zagazola Makama learnt from sources that the incident occurred at the Solid Mining Company early on Feb. 18.
The sources said the victims, mostly young men aged between 20 and 35 years, were conducting routine mining operations when they inhaled toxic gas that had accumulated in the poorly ventilated tunnels.
Eyewitnesses described the scene as chaotic, with miners collapsing inside the tunnels and colleagues rushing to evacuate survivors.
Rescue teams, alongside mining site personnel, quickly cordoned off the affected area and transported 25 victims to a nearby primary health centre, where they are receiving treatment. Some of the injured are reported to be in critical condition.

Police sources confirmed that the mining site has been fully secured to prevent further exposure and to allow investigators to determine the exact circumstances that led to the gas leak. “The site is under strict control, and emergency protocols are being followed to manage the situation,” one source said.
The tragedy has draw attention to the longstanding safety challenges in the underground mining industry, particularly the risk of gas exposure in deep tunnels.
Experts note that proper ventilation, gas monitoring systems, and emergency preparedness are critical to preventing such disasters.
Authorities have pledged a thorough investigation, including assessing whether the mining company complied with existing safety standards and determining accountability. Further updates, including confirmed identities of victims and official responses from regulators, are expected.
Tragedy in Plateau: Carbon monoxide exposure claims 37 lives at Wase mining site
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