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
Wanted Boko Haram spy arrested in Monguno over Cross Kauwa attack, kidnappings
By Zagazola Makama
Security operatives have arrested a wanted Boko Haram spy in Monguno, Borno State, in connection with the recent terrorist attack on Cross Kauwa, intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama.
The suspect, identified as Abulfatahi, was apprehended on July 27 during an intelligence-led operation following efforts to track members of a terrorist intelligence network operating in the area.
Sources disclosed that two other members of the same network had earlier been arrested and transferred to the Joint Intelligence Fusion Centre (JIFC) for further investigation.
During preliminary interrogation, Abulfatahi reportedly confessed to working for a Boko Haram commander identified as Akilu, who is said to control terrorist activities in Dabar Masara and Garin Mace.
According to the sources, the suspect admitted to collecting taxes on behalf of the terrorist leader and facilitating the selection of individuals for abduction around Monguno.
Investigators also recovered two telephone numbers allegedly linked to Akilu from the suspect’s mobile phone as part of ongoing efforts to dismantle the terrorist network.
The sources said security agencies are conducting further investigations to identify additional collaborators, establish the full extent of the network’s activities, and support ongoing counter-terrorism operations in the Lake Chad region.
A comprehensive investigation report is expected to be submitted upon the conclusion of the ongoing inquiry.
Wanted Boko Haram spy arrested in Monguno over Cross Kauwa attack, kidnappings
Crime
Three suspected ISWAP fighters surrender to troops in Damasak after fleeing sustained bombardment
Three suspected ISWAP fighters surrender to troops in Damasak after fleeing sustained bombardment
By Zagazola Makama
Three suspected Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters have surrendered to troops of the Nigerian military in Damasak, Borno State, citing exhaustion and sustained military bombardment of their camps.
Intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspects surrendered at about 4:50 p.m. on July 28 to troops of Headquarters 5 Brigade in Damasak during ongoing counter-insurgency operations under Operation Hadin Kai.
The surrendered suspects were identified as Abba Musa Dogo, 24; Abubakar Bargaji, 28; and Ibrahim Abubakar, 16.
Preliminary interrogation revealed that they escaped from terrorist camps at Sabon Gari and Tunbun Mota, reportedly controlled by ISWAP commanders Abu Fatima and Abu Ayuba.
According to the sources, the suspects attributed their decision to surrender to fatigue and the sustained aerial and ground bombardment of their enclaves by Nigerian troops, which they said had made survival increasingly difficult.
The suspects also disclosed that they had been trained as gunboat operators and anti-aircraft gunners for operations in the Lake Chad region.
They further confessed that weapons were only issued to them before specific operations and were retrieved by their commanders immediately after the missions, suggesting a tightly controlled weapons management system within the terrorist group.
The sources said the three suspects expressed their readiness to renounce insurgency and embrace peace.
They are currently in military custody and are undergoing further profiling and investigation in line with established procedures.
The latest surrender adds to the growing number of terrorists abandoning the insurgency amid sustained military offensives targeting terrorist enclaves across the Lake Chad region under Operation Hadin Kai.
Three suspected ISWAP fighters surrender to troops in Damasak after fleeing sustained bombardment
Police arrest man for allegedly hacking father to death with axe in Benue
By Zagazola Makama
Operatives of the Benue State Police Command have arrested a man for allegedly hacking his father to death with an axe following a family dispute in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of the state.
Police sources told Zagazola Makama that the incident was reported at about 8:00 a.m. on July 25 by the Clan Head of Turan-Tse Twar, Injorov Tongov, Zaki Akor Kpan.
According to the report, the tragic incident occurred at about 2:00 p.m. on July 24 after the suspect, identified as Terfa Nyikwagh, engaged in a heated argument with his father, Mr. Nyikwagh Abor, over the death of his brother, Ternenge Uwuh.
The sources said the disagreement escalated, during which the suspect allegedly attacked his father with an axe, inflicting fatal injuries.
Upon receiving the report, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Katsina-Ala led a patrol team to the scene, where the suspect was arrested without resistance.
The body of the deceased was evacuated and deposited at the Gondozua Hospital Mortuary for a post-mortem examination.
The suspect remains in police custody, while investigations are ongoing to determine the full circumstances surrounding the incident before prosecution.
Police arrest man for allegedly hacking father to death with axe in Benue
Wanted Boko Haram spy arrested in Monguno over Cross Kauwa attack, kidnappings
Three suspected ISWAP fighters surrender to troops in Damasak after fleeing sustained bombardment
Troops foil IED threat on Dikwa–Gajibo road, safely detonate explosive
Roger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
THE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
FAILED COUP IN BURKINA FASO: HOW TRAORÉ NARROWLY ESCAPED ASSASSINATION PLOT AMID FOREIGN INTERFERENCE CLAIMS
-
News2 years agoRoger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
-
Opinions4 years ago
THE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
-
News1 year agoFAILED COUP IN BURKINA FASO: HOW TRAORÉ NARROWLY ESCAPED ASSASSINATION PLOT AMID FOREIGN INTERFERENCE CLAIMS
-
News2 years agoEYN: Rev. Billi, Distortion of History, and The Living Tamarind Tree
-
Opinions5 years agoPOLICE CHARGE ROOMS, A MINTING PRESS
-
ACADEMICS2 years agoA History of Biu” (2015) and The Lingering Bura-Pabir Question (1)
-
Columns2 years agoArmy University Biu: There is certain interest, but certainly not from Borno.
-
Politics1 year ago2027: Why Hon. Midala Balami Must Go, as Youths in Hawul and Asikira/Uba Federal Constituency Reject ₦500,000 as Sallah Gift
