UPDATE: Policemen Ask Busola Dakolo To Recant Confession Against Fatoyinbo By Signing Document

peratives of the Nigerian Police are currently at the residence of popular Nigerian musician, Timi Dakolo and his wife, Busola Dakolo.
A source, who spoke to SaharaReporters, said, "The men are harassing the Dakolos and trying to force them to sign a document from the Inspector General Of Police, Mohammed Adamu, stating that the confession made by Busola Dakolo is targeted at tarnishing the image of Biodun Fatoyinbo, pastor of Commonwealth of Zion Assembly in Abuja, a move the Dakolo's are vehemently resisting."
Busola Dakolo had alleged that Biodun Fatoyinbo of the Commonwealth of Zion raped her as a teenager in his church in Ilorin.
Sources at the Dakolo residence say the policemen numbering three are trying to force them to go to Abuja against their will.
Details later...

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Police rescue Nigerian president's in-law from kidnappers

Police in the northern Nigerian city of Kano said on Tuesday they had rescued an in-law of President Muhammadu Buhari from kidnappers, freeing him after an overnight gunfight with his abductors.
Special police operatives on Monday evening stormed a hideout on the outskirts of Kano, where Musa Umar had been held since he was captured on May 2.
After hours of gunfire, Umar was "rescued unhurt, arrests were made and arms and ammunitions recovered", Kano police spokesperson Haruna Abdullahi said.
Umar, who is married to Buhari's niece, was seized in May by four gunmen and forced into a car outside his house in Daura, the president's hometown.
A police officer familiar with the rescue operation said the kidnappers had demanded $11m ransom during phone negotiations monitored by security operatives.
Kidnapping for ransom
Eleven members of the gang were arrested and one was killed in the shootout, said the source who asked not to be named.
The Gangan Ruwa neighbourhood in the city was cordoned off by police as they "intensified efforts to arrest fleeing suspects", Abdullahi said.
Kidnapping for ransom is widespread in the oil-rich southern delta region, where criminal gangs seize expatriate oil workers and wealthy Nigerians in exchange for large payments.
But in recent years the practice has surged in northern areas, particularly in the northwest of the country.
Umar's kidnap was the first in Buhari's home city and the second time someone linked to him has been targeted.
In March Ahmad Suleiman, a Muslim cleric and a close ally of Buhari, was kidnapped along with five others while travelling on a highway.
The kidnappers demanded a 300-million-naira ($840 000) ransom.
Suleiman and his comrades were released two weeks later in exchange for the detained mother of the leader of the gang, the cleric told reporters after his release.
Kidnappers often seize travellers on major highways and are known to operate in the northwestern states of Zamfara, Katsina and Kaduna, where vast forests serve as cover.

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Anarchy looms over siege laid to Yorubaland, Alaafin tells Buhari

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, has written to President Muhammadu Buhari to warn him about looming anarchy in the country if the siege laid to Yorubaland by herdsmen and kidnappers is not contained.

Adeyemi, who catalogued the spate of insecurity in Yorubaland by herdsmen and their collaborators, accused Buhari of not bringing the culprits to book.

He said the Yoruba had all it took to resort to self-help if the security in the zone did not improve and people guaranteed safety of lives and property.

Titled, �Yoruba Question in Nigeria Conundrum,� Alaafin wrote, �I have never been timid or failed in my total support for the success of your administration. My confidence had always been based on Your Excellency�s ability, fitness and competence in leading the country to the Promised Land, where law and order will prevail, individual liberty is guaranteed and  economic wellbeing of the citizens is assured.

�In recent time, however, I am worried about the security situation in the country, especially in the South-West geo-political zone, nay the entire Yoruba-speaking area of the country, including Kwara, Kogi and Edo states.

�This has to do with the menace of Fulani herdsmen that have laid siege to almost all the highways of Yorubaland. Whether in Owo, Akure, Ilesa/Ife-Ibadan road or Ibarapa zone and the Ijebu area of Ogun State, the story is the same.

�I have held a series of consultations with opinion moulders and eminent Yoruba leaders about the menace of these cattle herdsmen with assault such as raping of our women and on some occasions, in the presence of their husbands. That is apart from massive destruction of our agricultural land, which ultimately points to imminent starvation.

�On top of it all is the menace of professional kidnappers usually in military uniforms. What is more worrisome about the kidnapping notoriety is the impunity with which these kidnappers go about their nefarious activities.�

Alaafin said people were worried by the audacity of the lawless people in effecting their illegal acts in broad daylight on bushy highways without any arm of security being able to do anything.

He said, �We cannot even talk of parading suspects because no major arrests have been made in this part of the country. Without arrests, we cannot talk of their facing the law. In the face of the apparent helplessness of our security agencies, where do we go from here?�

The monarch said in the face of the helplessness of the security agencies, the people were finding it unavoidable to resort to alternative measures to safeguard their lives and property.

�Suffice to say that in most part of Yorubaland, their pre-colonial military structures have not been totally collapsed. Hence, such structures like Odua People�s Congress, Agbekoya and other vigilante groups still exist,� he added.

The monarch as the �Alaafin of Oyo, the King and Head of all Yoruba at home and in the diaspora and the Chief Custodian of Yoruba culture and values� he was compelled to tell the President that the people of Yorubaland lived in palpable fear because of new wave of insecurity.

He reminded the President of the crime that had been committed by the herdsmen, urging him to rise to the occasion.

He said, �Certain individuals were kidnapped along Erio-Aromoko Road, Ekiti State. They were tortured and exposed to danger in the forest for over two weeks. These victims included the Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikole branch, Adeola Adebayo, whose decomposing body was eventually found after a ransom price of N4m had been paid.�

He listed other victims of the marauders to include, two officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps, both Yoruba, who were picked up along Ilesa-Akure highway; Musibau Adetumbi, a legal practitioner based in Ibadan; Prof. Adegbehingbe, a surgeon at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-ife;  Dr Muslim Omoleke; Mr Ayo Oladele, and Dayo Adewole, son of a member of 2015-2019 executive council and Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, who was kidnapped on his farm at Iroko, a village along Ibadan-Oyo road.

He said further, �I am therefore writing to you, as a concerned stakeholder in your administration to alert you to the need to quickly respond to these and other issues concerning Yorubaland. There is a general impression among opposition group that you are not known to take decisive and proactive steps in many matters of national interest and that you are not usually too disturbed about the gale of insecurity in Yorubaland.

�May I also share with you the outcome or product of my wide consultations in Yorubaland to let you know, beyond what official security reports will make available to you, that there is a growing feeling of frustration, disappointment and despondency among our people, which if not immediately addressed, could lead to other serious national catastrophes and security challenges.�

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Nigeria deploys troops to troubled Sokoto state after latest killings

Military and police have been dispatched to tackle criminal gangs blamed for a spate of killings and kidnappings over the last year.


ABUJA - Nigeria�s President Muhammadu Buhari condemns the killing of 37 people by bandits in the northwestern state of Sokoto, his spokesman said in a statement.
Armed gangs have killed hundreds of people in northwest Nigeria this year and forced at least 20,000 to flee to neighbouring Niger, adding to security problems in a country also struggling with an Islamist insurgency in the northeast and clashes between farmers and herders in central states.
�President Muhammadu Buhari strongly condemns the killing of 37 innocent people by bandits in the Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State,� the presidency said in the statement.
Local media said the attacks took place late on Friday.
Troops have been deployed to the areas hit in the latest flashpoint, the presidency statement said. Military and police have been dispatched to tackle criminal gangs blamed for a spate of killings and kidnappings over the last year.
Buhari, a former military ruler, began his second four-year term in May after winning a presidential election in February.
During his campaign he vowed to improve security but - against the backdrop of the northwest�s wave of banditry, high-profile kidnappings nationwide and attacks by Islamist insurgents - he has reiterated that it remains a priority.
 

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Nigerian President Condemns Latest Killings in Sokoto State

 

ABUJA � Nigeria�s President Muhammadu Buhari condemns the killing of 37 people by bandits in the northwestern state of Sokoto, his spokesman said Saturday in a statement. 

Armed gangs have killed hundreds of people in northwest Nigeria this year and forced at least 20,000 to flee to neighboring Niger, adding to security problems in a country also struggling with an Islamist insurgency in the northeast and clashes between farmers and herders in central states. 

�President Muhammadu Buhari strongly condemns the killing of 37 innocent people by bandits in the Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State,� the presidency said in the statement. 

Local media said the attacks took place late Friday. 

Troops have been deployed to the areas hit in the latest flashpoint, the presidency statement said. Military and police have been dispatched to tackle criminal gangs blamed for a spate of killings and kidnappings over the last year. 

Buhari, a former military ruler, began his second four-year term in May after winning a presidential election in February. 

During his campaign he vowed to improve security but � against the backdrop of the northwest�s wave of banditry, high-profile kidnappings nationwide and attacks by Islamist insurgents � he has reiterated that it remains a priority. 

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13 killed in Nigeria building collapse

Thirteen people in central Nigeria died after a three-storey residential building collapsed after torrential rain, emergency workers said on Tuesday.
Rescue crews sifted through the rubble overnight after the building in the city of Jos came down on Monday.
A Red Cross official at the scene told AFP that 13 bodies had been recovered so far and seven survivors were being treated in hospital.
The collapse came after three days of pounding rain.
Emergency officials said it occurred during working hours, sparing dozens of residents, who later returned to find their homes destroyed.
Locals said that extra floors of residential housing had been added to the building in recent years.
Building collapses are tragically common in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, with millions living in dilapidated buildings and widespread non-enforcement of building regulation.
In March, 20 people died when a building housing a nursery and primary school collapsed in Nigeria's biggest city, Lagos.

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Nigeria sharia police arrest four over 'Facebook' wedding

Four men have been arrested in the northern Nigerian city of Kano for allegedly carrying out a false marriage on Facebook, which the Islamic enforcement agency said had mocked Islam.
Kano is among 12 northern Nigeria states where Sharia law operates and the Hisbah enforcement agency said on Wednesday the wedding was perceived to have made a mockery of the institute of marriage.
"We arrested four men for organising a mock wedding on Facebook which has caused public outrage," Hisbah's chief Abba Sufi told AFP.
"We arrested them for making a mockery of the sanctity of the institution of marriage," he said.
The four suspects, aged between 30 and 32, were picked up on Tuesday, days after news circulated that one of them married a young woman on Facebook in a ceremony witnessed by the others, Sufi said.
The groom, Sanusi Abdullahi, confessed to have "jokingly" offered a female Facebook friend who lives in the northeastern city of Maiduguri a bride price of 20 000 naira ($56) during the "online marriage" on the condition that the money would be paid after she moved into his house.
His three accomplices stood as witnesses in the ceremony which was more of a "banter" between friends.
Sufi said the suspects had never met the 'bride' in person and was only a "social media friend" to the four men.
The incident sparked an uproar from radical Muslim clerics, who called for the arrest and prosecution of the suspects.
Sufi said Abdullahi even received death threats on his mobile phone and was assaulted by an attacker while leaving the mosque after evening prayers on Monday before his arrest.
"We have to intervene to ensure the issue doesn't spiral out of control, now that the main suspect is under threat.
"We have asked the police to investigate such threats and the physical attack on him which has left him with an injury to his arm," he said.
Sufi said the suspects had shown remorse and the Hisbah was considering "closing the case" but wanted to gauge the mood of the people.
Last December, the Hisbah arrested 11 young women for allegedly planning a lesbian wedding.
The suspects were arrested while making last-minute preparations for the wedding in a hotel, but insisted on belonging to a dance club.
In northern states, where Sharia runs parallel to the state and federal justice system, homosexuality is punishable by death, although the sentence is rarely, if ever, enforced.

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