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Scores killed in Anti-government protest in Sierra Leone

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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

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Suspected ISWAP Terrorists Kill One in Borno Village Attack

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Suspected ISWAP Terrorists Kill One in Borno Village Attack

By Zagazola Makama

Suspected fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked Wovi Village in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State, killing one resident and causing panic among villagers.

Intelligence sources told Zagazola Malama that he terrorists, armed with rifles, invaded the remote village on foot around 1:00 a.m. on Tuesday, firing sporadically as residents fled into the surrounding bushes for safety.

One Saleh Grema Yura, 30, was shot in the chest during the attack.

Troops of Operation Hadin Kai were dispatched to the area, where they recovered the victim’s body and transported it to the General Hospital in Damboa.

Medical personnel confirmed him dead, and his remains were later released to relatives for burial according to Islamic rites.

Suspected ISWAP Terrorists Kill One in Borno Village Attack

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Gunmen Abduct Catholic Priest, Seminarian in Edo, One Attacker Killed

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Gunmen Abduct Catholic Priest, Seminarian in Edo, One Attacker Killed

By Zagazola Makama

Gunmen suspected to be armed Fulani attackers have abducted a Catholic priest, Rev. Father Philip Ekeli, and a seminarian, Peter Andrew, from St. Peter Catholic Church in Iviukwa Community, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State.

A Police sources confirmed the incident on Tuesday, stating that the attack occurred on Sunday night at about 11:30 p.m.

“The police received a distress call from the Chairman of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), Mr. Inaede Gabriel, informing them that the church was under siege.

“Operatives, including members of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), were immediately mobilized to the scene, where it was confirmed that the priest and the seminarian had been abducted and taken into the bush to an unknown location.

The sources revealed that during the attack, local vigilantes engaged the gunmen, killing one of the assailants. His body was deposited at the General Hospital Mortuary in Aghenebode.

“Items recovered from the scene include a button phone with two Airtel SIM cards, a power bank, a dagger jacket, a bag containing biscuits and sachets of Nescafé tea, two pairs of rubber shoes, and a small bag containing ₦168,850 in cash.

The sources added that a joint search-and-rescue operation involving personnel from the Nigerian Army’s 195 Battalion, police operatives, vigilantes, and local hunters is ongoing to rescue the victims and apprehend the abductors.

Gunmen Abduct Catholic Priest, Seminarian in Edo, One Attacker Killed

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Police Rescue Abducted Senior Officer in Abuja

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Police Rescue Abducted Senior Officer in Abuja

By: Zagazola Makama

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has rescued Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Modestus Ojiebe, who was abducted by armed men along the Kubwa Expressway in Abuja.

The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, confirmed the development in a statement on Monday, saying the officer had been safely reunited with his family.

“Upon receiving the distress call, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Dawaki Division acted swiftly, leading his patrol team while alerting all police checkpoints and key entry and exit points into the FCT. This decisive response enabled the successful rescue of the officer on the same night,” she said.

The police also stated that efforts were ongoing to track down the suspects, who abandoned the officer and fled into the bush in Garaku, Nasarawa State.

Zagazola Makama had reported how the incident occurred late Sunday night when CSP Ojiebe’s Toyota Corolla developed a mechanical fault near Dei-Dei Barracks. While attempting to fix the vehicle, an ash-colored Mercedes-Benz with four armed occupants stopped behind him.

The assailants reportedly searched and robbed Ojiebe and his wife of their mobile phones and ATM cards. Upon discovering his police identity card, they forced him into their vehicle and sped off, leaving his wife and their car at the scene.

Following the abduction, the FCT Police intensified stop-and-search operations at various entry and exit points to track the perpetrators.

Police Rescue Abducted Senior Officer in Abuja

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