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
Suspected terrorist arrested by Niger National Guard in Bangoula
By: Zagazola Makama
Elements of the Niger National Guard (GNN) stationed in Bangoula have arrested a suspected member of a terrorist armed group during a routine road check and identity verification operation.
According to sources, the suspect, identified as Soumaila Mahamadou Hamadou, 27, was intercepted on July 7, 2025, while attempting to travel without valid identification.
Hamadou, a native of M’banga and reportedly a dealer by profession, was found in possession of 2,250,000 FCFA and a mobile phone. He claimed he was visiting Niamey for the first time to recover payment from a business transaction involving 40 cans of 20-litre draining oil allegedly sold to an individual named Ousseini, and purchased from a man called Talla in Ballabe.
However, security personnel raised concerns over the credibility of his account, noting that commercial flows of draining oil typically move from Niamey to rural areas, not in reverse. This discrepancy prompted further investigation into the suspect’s activities.
Preliminary interrogation and forensic analysis of his phone revealed troubling information. Hamadou reportedly admitted to being affiliated with terrorist armed groups (GAT) since 2022 and operating under the pseudonym “Zoubeirou” within the sect.
He further confessed to being under the command of a certain AMIR Abdoulaye, who was recently linked to the attack on the Niger National Guard post in Bouloudjouga. Hamadou also claimed participation in a coordinated assault against the Nigerian Armed Forces in August 2024, involving approximately 300 motorcycles with two fighters each.
Security sources confirmed that Hamadou bears multiple gunshot wounds on his left forearm, shoulder, right chest, and left lower jaw, which he sustained during the aforementioned attack.
He is currently being held in custody at the Track Brigade, where investigations are ongoing to determine the full extent of his activities and affiliations.
Suspected terrorist arrested by Niger National Guard in Bangoula
Crime
Police rescue 26 kidnapped victims in Niger during operations along Birnin-Gwari, Kagara, and Yauri axis
Police rescue 26 kidnapped victims in Niger during operations along Birnin-Gwari, Kagara, and Yauri axis
By: Zagazola Makama
The Niger State Police has rescued 26 kidnapped victims, mostly women and children, during a sustained rescue operation across Maikujeri, Kagara, and Yauri axis following a tip-off. Police sources at the Command confirmed the development to Zagazola Makama on Tuesday.
The sources said that the victims had been abducted earlier in Birnin-Gwari area of Kaduna State and were being transported by their captors towards the New-Bussa axis between July 4 and 5.
“On July 5, police patrol teams attached to Kagara Division intercepted and rescued multiple victims being moved along Maikujeri–Kagara Road towards Babanna.
Those rescued include: Tani Ali and her three children, Hajara Muhammad, Zainab Salihu and her minor child, Asabe Luka, all females from Munya and Rafi LGAs of Niger State, Zuwaira Ahmed from Basha village in Sardauna LGA, Taraba State, and her two daughters.
The sources added that on the same day, at about 9:30 p.m., another rescue operation led to the interception of a Toyota vehicle driven by one Yusuf Abdullahi of Birnin-Gwari, Kaduna State.
“Thirteen more kidnapped victims were rescued from the vehicle. The movement was being coordinated by one Salma Usman, who was meant to contact the receiver of the victims in Yauri, Kebbi State,” he said.
“The police recovered five mobile phones from the victims and took all rescued persons to Asamau Clinic for medical evaluation,”said the sources.
The police source confirmed that efforts are ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects and reunite all the victims with their families.
End
Troops neutralise militia during clearance patrol in Plateau community
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of Sector 5, Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), have neutralised a suspected militia member during a clearance operation in Hokk community, Mushere West District of Bokkos Local Government Area, Plateau State.
Sources told Zagazola Makama that the operation, which took place on July 3 at about 11:45 a.m., was part of a long-range patrol covering Tulus and Hokk communities along the Plateau–Nasarawa border.
The sources said that the troops came under attack from armed militias in Hokk but successfully repelled the assailants, killing one while others fled the scene.
As of the time of filing this report, troops have continued to dominate the general area with aggressive patrols to prevent further militia activity.
Troops neutralise militia during clearance patrol in Plateau community
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