Local

By Uzair Adam Imam 

Another Kano businessman, Umar Sani, aka Magaji, was killed by suspected bandits after collecting ransom from his relatives.

Magaji, who hailed from Fagge LGA in the Kano metropolis, was said to have been kidnapped alongside five others on the highway en route to Buruku.

The bandits who spoke after they collected the ransom confirmed the murder of Magaji to his relatives. 

Our reporter gathered that the bandits called back on Thursday demanding another N20 million from his relatives despite killing the businessman. 

Hussaini Sani, an elder brother of the deceased, confirmed the death of Magaji to journalists. 

He said, “Nine of them were kidnapped along the Kaduna-Birnin Gwari road while on their way to Buruku. They later released three of them but withheld six.

“After some time, negotiation started with the families of the six people, and we later agreed to pay them collectively, only for us to see five of them coming back.

“When we asked them about the whereabouts of our brother, they confirmed to us that he was killed by the abductors. We called them (abductors) using the number they used for the negotiation. They insisted that our brother was still alive and even went ahead to demand another ransom before they would release him.

“When we insisted that we must hear our brother’s voice before paying something again, they opened up to us that he was really killed, saying he was trying to escape. But his released colleagues said he was killed intentionally,” he added.

The Daily Reality reported how bandits killed a 39-year-old businessman, Yahya Hassan Musa, hours after receiving a N6m ransom.

Musa, who hails from Kano, was roamed and kidnapped in a forest around the Mopa area of Kogi State, and the bandits reportedly demanded N10m naira before slashing it to N6m at a later date.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Community members of Dutsen Reme, Funtuwa in Katsina State were thrown into mourning as bandits launched a fresh attack leading to the death of two citizens, Buhari Ahmadu and 11-year-old Usman, last night.

A source who exclusively spoke to the Daily Reality disclosed that the bandits roamed the community last night where they arbitrarily gunned down many people.

He said Ahmadu, a member of the Bakori local government council staff, passed on instantly as he was shot in the head, while Usman also died in the wee small hours of today.

The bandits, about 100, were said to have trooped to Dutsen Reme Tuesday around 10:30 pm, where they operated for almost 2 hours without any security intervention.

Our reporter gathered that this was the third time in ten days and during this holy month of Ramadan that these heartless bandits attacked this community, the development that strangled peace in the area.

The residents who spoke to the Daily Reality confirmed the incident wailing on the government to come to their rescue and end the incessant bloodshed in the community.

A resident, Lawal Hamisu, confided in our reporter that insecurity had strangled the peace in their community these days.

He said, “This is just not the first time. The bandits attacked this community three times in ten days. In the first place, they abducted a lactating mother. Until now, no one knows her whereabouts.

“On their second attack, they abducted two women and robbed people of their money, phones and whatnot. And sadly enough, the bandits on a fresh attack last night gunned down two innocent people in our community,” Lawan said.

Another resident, Mujahid Aliyu Maigora, recounted the harrowing tale of the incident saying, “it happened last night around 10:00 pm when I was coming back home from a cinema alongside my cousin. It surprised all of us to have heard gunshots in the air. We could not help but run away to save our dear cheap lives.

“The bandits walked, passed my house and made for one stall. So I think their intention might be to take away the cows there,” he said.

A resident, Amb Funtuwa, lamented that this is the time the government should mitigate banditry in Nigeria. He said, “government should just warrant order so that our security forces will confront these bandits.”

The residents pleaded with the government to do whatever possible to put banditry to an end in Nigeria, let alone the Dutsen Reme community.

All attempts to reach the Katsina State Police Spokesperson for comments proved abortive.

By Uzair Adam Imam

A newly-elected councillor in Katsina State was gunned down as bandits rampaged through Gozaki town of Kafur local government area of the state.

The late councillor, Alhaji Nasiru Magaji, was killed in his residence in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Multiple sources confirmed the incident, saying the bandits had also abducted the two wives of the slain councillor.

A resident, Abdullahi Gozaki, said the bandits, who were about ten stormed the community, killed Magaji and abducted his wives.

However, the wives have reportedly regained freedom without any ransom.

“They attacked in the early hours of today (Wednesday) around 12:30 am, killed the councillor and abducted his two wives but later sent them back home,” he said.

By Khairat Suleiman Jaruma

It took too long for us to realize that one of our biggest problems in northern Nigeria is the Almajiri system, even though we still have a few slowpokes that believe there isn’t anything wrong with the archaic and inhumane system.

We have criticized and blamed the system enough. It’s high time we started doing more action and less talking. But how do we go about it? Can we stop the influx of children into the system? Completely? No, but to a very reasonable extent, yes. But, how do we deal with those in the system already? You might say they should be taken back to their parents, and you are not wrong, but some can’t even remember their parents or where they come from. We also have those who have lost their families and villages due to banditry and terrorism. So, how do you go about it?

Baffah (2022) explained, “The best way to check the Almajiri system is to empower local governments. When you create wealth at the local level, rural to urban migration becomes unattractive, economic equality is everything”. But there is more to do than just this.

It is almost impossible to abolish the Almajiri system, and previous – and even ongoing – efforts to ban it failed woefully. What the Almajiri system needs are sustainable reforms, as opposed to the white elephant reforms that have been made in the past.

NexTier SPD suggests government must adopt the Child Right Act, which is an effort by UNICEF to protect children and ease the prosecution of violators of child rights. It is equally vital that the government criminalizes the movement of Almajiris from one place to another. In addition, begging and child labour should be banned entirely.

Also, the government must work with informal structures such as religious and traditional institutions to support and promote reforms by emphasizing the gain of a reformed Almajiri system to individuals, parents, and the society at large while discouraging incessant childbirths and implementing childbirth control policies.

The importance of religious leaders and traditional stakeholders in sustainable Almajiri reforms can’t be overemphasized. But, it’s also essential that, as individuals, we stop using Almajiris as henchmen for committing heinous crimes or as a source of cheap labour.

Khairat Suleiman Jaruma wrote from Kaduna via khairatsuleh@gmail.com.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

Six passengers in two commercial trucks were killed in an auto accident on the Bauchi–Kano expressway in Bauchi State on Tuesday.

According to an eyewitness, the collision occurred about 12:15 p.m., involving a Sharon Ford and a Volkswagen Golf transporting groceries.

The passengers in both vehicles, according to the witness, were burned beyond recognition after a head-on collision.

When contacted, Rilwan Adamu, spokesman for the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Bauchi State Sector Command, said he would make details of the accident accessible to the press following the rescue operation.

However, details in respect of the accident have so far not emerged.

By Uzair Adam Imam 

The mother of the missing social media critic, Abubakar Idris, aka Dadiyata, has passed on at sixty-six. 

The Daily Reality gathered that the deceased died at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna, where she was being treated.

Family members, Aminu and Usman, confirmed her death to journalists, adding that the deceased was rushed to the hospital where she had finally died. 

Usman said, “She was okay when she went to bed. However, she woke up at midnight, and she couldn’t talk. She became unconscious and was rushed to the hospital.”

Dadiyata was reportedly taken forcibly by unknown men on August 2, 2019, at his residence in Kaduna. However, until today, all attempts to trace his whereabouts have been fruitless.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Bandits killed a 39-year-old businessman, Yahya Hassan Musa, hours after receiving a N6m ransom, a traumatic incident that forced his family members to flood tears.

The Daily Reality learnt that the incident started on Thursday when Musa was coming back from Cotonou, Benin Republic.

Musa, who hails from Kano, was said to be roamed and kidnapped in a forest around the Mopa area of Kogi State, and the bandits reportedly demanded N10m naira before slashing it to N6m at a later date.

Daily Trust reported late Yahaya’s brother, Abubakar Musa, while narrating the incident to the City and Crime, saying that his brother used to fly whenever he travelled.

Musa was the one who took the N6m to the Kidnappers.

He added that, however, on that fateful trip, his late brother decided to return by road.

He said, “The kidnappers requested that I should take the money to a forest in Kabba. I went and delivered the money in cash. They then directed me to a place where I would meet him, but I did not meet him.”

“I slept in the forest alone. I went back to the nearby town and hired hunters to get back into the forest and search for the corpse. After trekking many kilometres, we found his decomposing corpse.”

By Aliyu Nuhu

Kano, my state, my people. We don’t like rules and regulations. We are headstrong and lawless. Truth is bitter. Well, there are a few law-abiding people in Kano, no doubt all cannot be the same. But the majority carries the day. Most Kano people hate order and regulations.

I am from Kano State, so I cannot be accused of unfairly profiling other people. But I know how difficult and lawless my people can be. People build houses without planning or permits. A Kano slum is like no other anywhere. No wonder address is non-existent in unplanned areas outside GRAs. Kano’s historical wall has all disappeared. People don’t care about antiquity, history and heritage. They simply demolished the walls and built houses and shops. They defecate everywhere near the wall, it was the reason why UNESCO disqualified the ancient Kano wall as a world heritage site.

Nearly all the vehicles in Kano are not properly registered and the vehicle licences are never renewed. Almost every motorist has no driver’s license. The FRSC data is there for all to verify. We don’t pay taxes. We resist paying for electricity and water bills. Mosques don’t pay for utilities. PHCN has given up on collecting revenue from mosques. Disconnection is resisted with violence. Kaduna State generates more IGR than Kano despite the huge population and business gap.

We dump refuse everywhere, even in the marketplace, school buildings and hospitals. We dig government constructed roads to wire our personal wirings and other house fittings without any fear. We even build and erect some structures such as kiosks, etc, on people’s paths and nobody cares, since everything is done according to what one likes.

We are one state that resisted seatbelt laws to a standstill and beat up FRSC and VIO officials. FRSC has given up on enforcing the law. It is the Kano people that invented their own version of seatbelt law that says passengers don’t need to wear seatbelts. Women are exempted from all traffic violations. Hardly you see Hisbah, Police, FRSC stopping women. The reason is that the husbands will react violently if their wives or daughters are questioned. We are prone to riots at the slightest provocation. Previously, religious riots is rampant. People take laws into their hands. 

Before the Corona lockdown, people had disobeyed previous restrictions imposed by the government. Entry into the state was disobeyed by the indigenes of Kano. They came from index places like Lagos and Abuja and refused testing and isolation. They navigated through bushes to penetrate the state. Those returning from abroad refused to isolate themselves. Kano people don’t want to know what is social distancing. The Almajiri ban has been resisted and the system has continued unchecked. So I know what I was saying when I referred to Kano people as unruly and fractious. Yes, it is my state, but it is a bitter truth! When it also comes to the better side of Kano, I will also talk. I have a lot to say on that as well. That’s for another day.

Aliyu Nuhu writes from Abuja, Nigeria.

By Uzair Adam Imam 

The bandits who abducted a pregnant woman in Jalingo, Taraba State, have refused to release her despite being in labour.

The Daily Reality gathered that the bandits kept demanding for ransom to release the woman.

The woman who fell into labour in captivity was said to have visited her parents for maternity leave from Kano.

However, the bandits called the father of the abducted pregnant woman and demanded immediate ransom.

It was gathered that the shooters, who targeted three houses in the area, operated for about forty minutes without any interruption.

DSP Usman Abdullahi, the police spokesperson of Taraba Command, confirmed the abduction of the pregnant woman and six others.

Banditry and kidnapping are the significant security challenges bedevilling the country over the years. 

The menacing security challenge lingers despite the threats and promises by the federal government to mitigate the issue.

By Uzair Adam Imam 

The Kano State Commissioner for Rural Development, Musa Ilyasu Kwankwaso, has resigned to contest for the House of Representatives in the 2023 general election. 

Kwankwaso resigned barely hours after Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje gave political appointees wishing to run for elective offices 24 hours to quit.

The Daily Reality learnt that Kwankwaso wishes to contest for membership in the House of Representatives representing the Kura, Madobi and Garun Malam federal constituency.

In a statement Sunday by his Chief Press Secretary, Governor Ganduje has directed all his political appointees that want to contest for elections in 2023 to resign.

The governor said all appointees are given between now and Monday, April 18, to tender their resignation.

The statement partly read: “Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje directed all political appointees running for elective offices in the forthcoming 2023 general elections to resign from their respective positions.”