News
Last victim of Kaduna Baptist school kidnapping escapes captivity — after 2 years
Treasure Ayuba, the last victim of the Bethel Baptist High School kidnapping in Kaduna state, has escaped from captivity.
The 13-year-old Ayuba returned home on Thursday at about 4pm.
Joseph Hayab, chairman of the Kaduna chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), confirmed the news on Friday.
On July 5, 2021, bandits invaded the school and abducted 121 students.
The bandits had released the students in batches after freeing the first set of 28 on July 25, 2021.
The bandits reportedly collected a ransom of N100m.
Following the release of the 28 students, the bandits were said to have demanded another N80m as ransom for the remaining students.
In January 2022, Hayab had said 120 abducted students of the school had been released.
“We are grateful to God for the escape of Treasure Ayuba, one of the 121 students of Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna on July 5, 2021,” Hayab said.
“When all hope seemed to be lost, God did His miracle.”
He said Ayuba’s parents immediately called him and handed over the boy to him.
Hayab said speculations that Ayuba was released by the bandits but refused to return home was not true.
“The boy looked healthy but he was vomiting after eating food so we took him to the hospital for medical examination,” Hayab said.
“I have interacted with him and he told me how he escaped from his captors.
“Contrary to speculations that the boy chose to live with the bandits, the true story is that his abductors decided that they will keep him as a reward to convert him to Islam, so that he could marry and raise Muslim children.
“Ayuba got to a town which he couldn’t identify, but there was a bus looking for passengers going to Kaduna.
“He paid N6,000 as transport fare and got to Kaduna after over seven hours’ drive.
“He told me that since the bandits considered him as one of them, they allowed him free movement in their enclave.
“He told me that whenever the bandits were going on their operations, they left him at ‘home’
“He said they often give him some pocket money after their operations.
“He was the the youngest among those abducted, so they were treating him as a small child. They were calling him ‘smally’ and he was given special treatment.
“He was given two mobile telephones by his kidnappers but he couldn’t contact his parents or anybody because he had no one’s telephone number.”
Hayab quoted Ayuba as saying some of their captors were killed either during kidnapping operations or in airstrikes.
News
Police probe video of officer in altercation with elderly woman in Lagos
The Lagos police command says it has launched an investigation into a viral video of an officer involved in an altercation with an elderly woman.
POLICE COMMENCE INVESTIGATION INTO VIDEO OF POLICE OFFICER IN ALTERCATION WITH ELDERLY WOMAN
On Sunday, a video showing a police officer manhandling an elderly woman in her car began circulating on social media.
The officer was said to have demanded N250,000 from the woman which she refused to pay, before the altercation began.
Benjamin Hundeyin, the police spokesperson in Lagos, in a statement on Wednesday, condemned the action of the officer, noting that the inspector and his supervising deputy superintendent have been brought in for questioning.
Hundeyin said the incident took place in the Alagbado area of Lagos in the first week of September.
He assured the public that the investigation would be “swift, thorough and conclusive”.
“The command condemns the unprofessional conduct of the Inspector as it does not represent the ethics and operational standards of the Nigeria Police Force,” the statement reads.
“The command equally assures Lagosians that the investigation will be swift, thorough and conclusive.
“We will ensure that the officers are disciplined as appropriate, and members of the public are updated accordingly.”
News
EFCC besieged Kogi lodge to forcefully arrest Yahaya Bello, says his media office
The media office of Yahaya Bello has alleged that on Wednesday night, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) laid siege to the Kogi Government Lodge in Abuja, in a bid to forcefully arrest the former governor.
The claim comes hours after Bello’s media office said the ex-governor had honoured the anti-graft agency’s invitation.
The EFCC had immediately denied that Bello was in its custody, restating that the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain was still a wanted man.
However, Bello’s media office responded by saying the politician was not interrogated when he visited the EFCC office and was turned back.
“He was accompanied to the commission’s office by Gov Usman Ododo,” the media team had said.
‘THEY SHOT SPORADICALLY’
In a statement issued on Wednesday night, Ohiare Michael, director of the Yahaya Bello Media Office, said the operatives shot sporadically during the raid.
“It has come to our notice that people suspected to be operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, are currently around the Kogi Government Lodge, Asokoro in an attempt to forcefully arrest former Governor Yahaya Bello,” the statement reads.
“They were shooting sporadically.
“It was reported earlier that the former Governor went to the EFCC Office voluntarily, but the commission told him to leave and come at a later date, only to mount an attack on the Kogi Government facility in Asokoro.
“We want to place it on record that the EFCC should be held accountable if anything untoward happens to him.
“Tonight’s attack was needless as the former Governor made himself available to the EFCC in their office for interrogation.
“The EFCC had no question to ask Alhaji Yahaya Bello in the morning, but suddenly, they are out to arrest him.
“This action is condemnable. They have displayed the very reason many Nigerians believe they are fighting political battles instead of the mandate to fight corruption.
“This action reflects much more than a fight against corruption. We will keep Nigerians posted.”
News
Geological agency asks residents not to panic as earth tremors rock Abuja
The Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) says there is no need for residents of the federal capital territory (FCT) to panic over recent earth tremors.
Residents of Mpape and Katampe communities in the FCT recently expressed fears following earth tremors that reportedly began on Saturday.
An earth tremor is a relatively small or short-lived movement of the earth’s surface. It is caused by the same forces that produce earthquakes.
In a statement on Wednesday, Olusegun Ige, NGSA director-general, said the agency monitored the tremors and found them to be low.
He added that the tremors do not pose any threats.
“The Monitoring Station (NGSA-5) at Katampe has been capturing several significant ground motions with high moment magnitudes (Mw) in the past five days, beginning from September 13, 2024 till date,” the statement reads.
“Only one mild event was recorded on September 13th. Six of these events were captured on the 14th of September, while over 21 events were captured on the 15th with higher intensities.
“More than twenty events were recorded on the 16th of September. The intensity and frequency of the tremor appear to increase from the 13th to 16th September. There are a few weak events recorded today, 17th September.
“Preliminary analysis of the waveforms showed that the sources of the ground motions are less than 5 km away from the monitoring station.
“NGSA team also visited the affected areas for on-the-spot assessments of the events. From the accounts of the residents of the affected areas, the observations by the NGSA team, and findings from earlier interpretations of the airborne geophysical data over the area and adjoining areas, the following conclusions were made:
“The tremors are a result of accumulated stress along the identified faults and released seismic energy, which may have traveled through associated fractures to areas where the tremors were felt around the FCT.
“There are multiple epicenters associated with the recent tremor. Most of the epicenters are located northeast of the NGSA-5 Seismic Station around Mpape axis, while a few are located southwest of the Station around Katampe axis.
“The intensities of the tremors are weak to light, ranging from III – IV on the Modified Mercalli Scale, and pose a very low level threat.”
The agency added that it is closely monitoring the situation.
“The residents of Mpape, Katampe, Maitama, and other areas where the tremors were felt are advised not to panic as the tremors can be generally described as low,” the statement adds.
“The Agency is keeping a close monitoring of the situation and will provide updates as may become necessary.
“The general public should also be aware that the NGSA Seismic Stations are being monitored in real time to ensure prompt alerts on any major event.”
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