Five killed, house burnt in cross-border communal attack in Benue

By: Zagazola Makama

Five persons have been killed and a house razed following a late-night attack on Azoke village in Ado Local Government Area of Benue.

Sources said the incident occurred at about 9:00 p.m. on Feb. 19 when suspected assailants from Akparata community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi allegedly invaded the village.

The victims were identified as Nwefuru Elu, Nwefuru Agnes, Nwali Nworie Christianana, Obasi Nwode and Nwozo Nwode.

It was gathered that the attackers also set ablaze a house belonging to one Elumu Nwokwo during the assault, heightening tension in the area.

Security personnel who responded to a distress alert visited the scene and documented evidence as part of preliminary investigation.

Authorities said efforts were ongoing to apprehend those responsible, while further investigation had commenced to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Residents were urged to remain calm and cooperate with security agencies as measures were being intensified to prevent escalation of violence in the area.

Five killed, house burnt in cross-border communal attack in Benue

New Residential layouts will not distort master plan of greater Maiduguri…..Bababe

By:Bodunrin Kayode

The Executive Secretary (ES) Borno Geographic Information Service (BOGIS) Eng Adam Bababe has said that the new residential layouts being created by his agency will not distort the foundations of the existing master plan of the city.

Bababe said that the phased layout which is being built along the new Maiduguri ring road would naturally fall in line with the letters and spirit of the master plan which he said is currently in the online market being purchased by interested residents of Borno.

The ES agreed that full update of the master plan is long overdue adding that a gradual process is however on the way to ensure that residents enjoy the fruit of the reviewed master plan that would satisfy every resident.

Eng Bababe said this during a recent news conference in which he unveiled a digitalized method for the application of land by residents of the state who desire to own their own land for the building of new homes to reduce the current deficit which came about by the lingering insurgency.

Bababe revealed that the Borno government has spent over 1.68 billion naira compensating 732 original farm owners along the newly computerized plots that are now being allocated on phase one of the new allocated plots.

The ES further hinted that about eleven families refused the cash compensation because they felt the money the government was offering them for the land taken for the layout purpose was inadequate compared to the real value of land they possessed from their ancestors.

They rather opted for alternative amount of land acres in another area to continue with their original type of farming pastime before the government decided to create the layouts to deal with accommodation deficits in greater Maiduguri.

Eng Bababe also hinted that 16.5km of phase one of the proposed layout plan was well planned with effective arterial road connections linked to the old designs thereby making the road networks to be very effective in tandem with the original master plan of Maiduguri.

He maintained that his engineers have prepared five phases of the layout which is meant to be sold to the public but for now they are dealing mostly with the phase one which will stretch from now till November 2026.

“When you consider the fact that the original master plan of Maiduguri was first proposed and presented in 1976 and the fact that it was supposed to be reviewed in 1981 but it did not get its first review so you can imagine the chaotic situation we met on ground which I have been trying to fix since I assumed duty here.

“As a result, you can see that it is going to be very difficult to enforce 100% the original letters of the plan on ground because it is quite a long time reviews have not taken place in the State capital. But I assure you that we will soon get a comprehensive and workable one ready that would take into cognizance most of our challenges as a developing capital.” Said Bababe.

The ES however regretted that if the government decides to stick to all the letters of the original master plan in the creation of a greater Maiduguri, there would be heavy collision with many interest secular and religious and that would not be very good for the government in power.

On their step by step treatment of past mistakes, the ES said that over 1000 homes were given notice to leave certain areas before the 2024 flood in the capital but only few of them responded to the notice.

A large chunk of them refused to leave until the flood actually covered and almost took some of them along before they realized that it was the reality and they had to move on their own.

On the mistake of approving petrol filling stations in residential areas

Bababe noted that it is on this same premise that his agency when it came on board refused to allocate new filling stations to petrol dealers who built stations any where they wish without the approval of town planning authorities.

In response to this reporters questions, he said he does not envisage any legal challenge in court by residents who may so despise filing stations in their vicinity because of the obvious hazards they pose to their right to life.

The BOGIS boss posited that the drafters of the new constitution have been very careful not to indulge in such flagrant approvals that would endanger residents in the entire phase one to five in the new master plan.

“. For clarity, i can assure you that we stopped the approvals of any new filling stations in the state since 2021 so there is nothing new now in this new allocations.

“Any filling station you see now that looks new were renovated out of older once sold out to the new buyers. New ones are yet to get any form of approvals from this office.

“And for the records out of 211 filling stations inside the books only 78 are completed and out of that only eleven of them are actually functional you can check them out” Said Bababe.

The ES went further to reiterate that the town planning authorities have equally been approving filling stations so any new one seen are actually being controlled by town planning authorities who decide where to fix them accordingly.

The ES maintained that there must be at least 200 metres from one filling station to another and they are doing their best to adhere to it.

Meanwhile the sales of the lands in the phase one to medium, low and high classification purchasers are still ongoing because all payments and collections of documents and deeds will be done online as expected.

A demonstration was made on the spot in the BOGIS compound where a prospective buyer got his approval immediately.

New Residential layouts will not distort master plan of greater Maiduguri…..Bababe

Troops rescue five kidnap victims, repel attack on commuters near enugu

By: Zagazola Makama

Troops deployed at 9th Mile in Enugu State have rescued five kidnapped victims after repelling an attack on commuters by suspected armed criminals.

Security sources said the incident occurred at about 6:55 p.m. on Feb. 20 when the troops responded to a distress call indicating that assailants had attacked travellers heading towards Anambra State.

On arrival at the scene, the troops engaged the attackers in a gun duel, forcing them to abandon the victims and flee into nearby surroundings.

The sources disclosed that five kidnapped persons were successfully rescued during the operation, while the vehicle used by the victims was also recovered.

It was gathered that the troops expended 11 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition during the encounter.

Security authorities said patrols had been intensified in the area to deny the criminals freedom of action and to forestall further attacks on commuters.

They added that the situation was under control, while surveillance and domination patrols were ongoing.

Troops rescue five kidnap victims, repel attack on commuters near enugu