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
Chinese expatriate dies in Kogi after collapsing at work
By: Zagazola Makama
A 47-year-old Chinese national working as a supervisor at BN Ceramics in Ajaokuta, Kogi State, has died after slumping at his duty post, the police have confirmed.
Sources said that the expatriate, identified as Mr. Luo Zhi Mao, collapsed on Aug. 2 at about 6:30 p.m. while working at the Press Department of the factory.
He was immediately rushed to Covenant Hospital, Ajaokuta, and subsequently referred to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Lokoja. However, due to an ongoing strike by doctors and nurses at FMC, he was later moved to Shifaah Hospital in Lokoja.
At about 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 5, Mr. Luo was confirmed dead at Shifaah Hospital.
His body has been deposited at the Kogi State Specialist Hospital Mortuary for autopsy.
Sources said investigations were ongoing to determine the exact cause of death, though no foul play has been suspected at this stage.
The management of BN Ceramics has yet to issue a formal statement on the incident.
Chinese expatriate dies in Kogi after collapsing at work
Crime
Bandits abduct Zamfara monarch after deadly NAF airstrike that kills scores of bandits in Tsafe
Bandits abduct Zamfara monarch after deadly NAF airstrike that kills scores of bandits in Tsafe
By: Zagazola Makama
Armed bandits have abducted the traditional ruler of Yankuzo, Alhaji Babangida Kogo, in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, barely hours after a devastating Nigerian Air Force (NAF) airstrike killed dozens of bandits in a forest enclave near the area.
The monarch was reportedly abducted on Tuesday evening along the Mararraba axis as he attempted to flee his community amid fears of reprisal attacks by the terrorists.
Sources confirmed to Zagazola Makama that the abduction was carried out by a large group of armed men riding on over 10 motorcycles. The assailants intercepted the monarch and his entourage near the abandoned farm of the late Alhaji Malami Yandoto and took him away, leaving others behind.
The abduction followed a precision airstrike carried out by the Air Component of Operation Hadarin Daji on the same day, targeting a large bandit assembly believed to be a wedding or celebratory gathering in a forest location between Yankuzo and Munhaye.
Zagazola gathered that the air raid followed credible intelligence and aerial surveillance, which tracked the movement of over 100 armed bandits converging at the location. The strike led to the killing of scores of terrorists and left many others wounded.
Security sources said the gathering was attended by fighters loyal to notorious bandit kingpins operating in the Tsafe–Zurmi axis, some of whom had crossed over from neighboring forests in Katsina and Sokoto states.
“The impact was massive, charred bodies and destroyed motorcycles littered the area after the strike,”said a source.
Following the air raid, fear gripped surrounding villages, with many residents fleeing in anticipation of retaliatory attacks by the surviving bandits.
“We knew they would strike back. That’s why our district head was leaving. Unfortunately, he ran into them before reaching safety,” said a Yankuzo resident who requested anonymity for security reasons.
Local vigilante sources confirmed that efforts were ongoing to trace the whereabouts of the abducted monarch. Military ground troops have also been deployed to the area to prevent further attacks.
The abduction point to the growing desperation of bandit groups under sustained military pressure in Zamfara and the wider North West region.
Bandits abduct Zamfara monarch after deadly NAF airstrike that kills scores of bandits in Tsafe
Gunmen in military uniform abduct passengers in Benue
By: Zagazola Makama
Suspected armed men dressed in military camouflage have abducted at least four passengers from a commercial bus along the Otukpo axis of Benue State.
Zagazola Makama gathered that the incident occurred on Aug. 3 at about 10:00 p.m. near Mechanic Village in Otukpo, when a commercial Hummer bus, en route from Abia State to Otukpo, was attacked by the assailants.
Sources said that the gunmen, believed to be Fulani herdsmen, whisked away between four and five passengers to an unknown destination.
One of the passengers, Sandra Okoh, a resident of Otobi Akpa, managed to escape during the attack and was later found during a joint search and rescue operation by the Nigerian Troops.
She told the security forces that her husband, Okoh Mike, was among those abducted. She also alleged that the bus driver fled the scene with passengers’ luggage and failed to report the incident to any nearby police station.
The security forces have since launched a manhunt for the suspects and intensified efforts to rescue the kidnapped victims.
Gunmen in military uniform abduct passengers in Benue
Soldier killed, two injured as bandits ambush military vehicle in Katsina
Mob kills suspected motorcycle thief in Gombe, police arrest four
Gunmen abduct two in Kwara Fulani camp, injure one
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