Katsina State

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Presidential Spokesperson, Garba Shehu, disclosed that the Advance Security Team of President Muhammadu Buhari was attacked near Dutsinma, Katsina State, on Tuesday, July 5, 2022.

“The Presidency has described as sad and unwelcome, the shooting incident near Dutsinma, Katsina State, at the convoy of cars carrying the Advance Team of security guards, protocol and media officers ahead of the President, Muhammadu Buhari’s trip to Daura for Sallah.” Mr Garba wrote in a statement .

Mr Garba assured Nigerians that the attack was repelled by the military, police and DSS personnel accompanying the convoy.

However, he also stated that two persons in the attacked convoy were receiving treatment after sustaining minor injuries.

“Two persons in the convoy are receiving treatment for the minor injuries they suffered. All the other personnel, staff and vehicles made it safely to Daura.” Mr Garba wrote

By Muhammad Aminu

Bandit-terrorists killed an assistant commissioner of police, Aminu Umar, in a gun duel in Zakka Forest of Safana local government of Katsina State on Tuesday afternoon.

The terrorist-bandits numbering over 300 hundred ambushed the ACP alongside his Officer while on operation at the said forest.

Katsina State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Gambo Isah, disclosed this in a statement to journalists in Katsina.

ACP Aminu Umar who was the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Dutsinma Area Command, was overpowered by the heavily armed terrorists.

“Today 06/07/2022 at about 1130hrs, a distress call was received that terrorists numbering over three hundred (300), on motorcycles, shooting sporadically with AK 47 rifles and General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG), ambushed ACP Aminu Umar, Area Commander, Dutsinma and team, while on clearance operation of recalcitrant bandits/terrorists, in Zakka forest, Safana LGA of Katsina state. Consequently, the Area Commander and one other gallantly lost their lives during a cross-exchange of gunfire, the statement said.

CP Idrisu Dauda sympathised with the families of the deceased over the tragic loss.

“The Commissioner of Police, CP Idrisu Dabban Dauda, psc +, fdc, on behalf of the officers and men of the Command, expresses his deep sympathy to the family of the deceased and pray to almighty Allah to repose their souls in Jannatul Firdausi.

He reaffirms the Nigeria Police Force’s commitment to the ongoing onslaught against terrorism in the state until it is completely rooted out.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

Three All Progressives Congress (APC) senators have resigned from the ruling party.

Senators Ahmad Babba Kaita (Katsina North), Lawal Yahaya Gumau (Bauchi South), and Francis Alimikhena (Edo North) are the defecting lawmakers.

Gumau defected to the New Nigeria Peoples Party, while Babba Kaita and Alimikhena joined the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, read three different letters in Tuesday’s plenary in which they announced their defections.

Senator Alimikhena’s decision to leave the APC was motivated by the “ongoing and complex crises that have plagued the APC,” particularly in his Senatorial District, “that has formed parallel executives that have weakened internal discipline, coherence, and commitment.”

Explaining the reason for his detection, Babba Kaita was quoted as saying, “As Senator representing Katsina North Senatorial District, I write to formally notify you of my resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC), and registration declaration for the Peoples Democratic Party.

“My resignation from the APC was born out of the marginalisation of critical stakeholders by the State Government and Leadership of the Party in Katsina State, where small people like me do not have a chance.

“I have since been joyful and graciously accepted into the fold of the Peoples Democratic Party in Katsina State.”

By Muhammad Sabiu

A Nigeria Customs Service post in Mil Takwas hamlet, a few kilometres from Katsina town, was ambushed by a group of gunmen known locally as bandits.

The attack took place around 1 a.m. on Monday, according to multiple sources and the Nigerian Customs Service in Katsina.

The criminals approached the checkpoint on motorcycles, according to Shamsu Magama, a resident of Magama Jibia.

They arrived from the Bugaje village forest and halted a commercial vehicle on its way to Jibia. On the spot, the driver was murdered. He claimed that after that, they rode their motorcycles towards Mil Takwas.

Another community member claimed that the customs officers were attacked because the bandits figured that if they went to the hamlet without chasing the Customs officials away, they would be able to repel the onslaught.

He claimed that four customs vehicles had been set ablaze.

Katsina is one of the northwestern states brutally hit by the criminal activities of the bandits operating in the region.

By Faruk Abdulkadir Waziri 

All trouble starts from the most trivial things. Hence the pertinence for instant reaction to even the tiniest disruption to an existing order. When a problem is tagged small and therefore left at the charge of its own amend, without making a move to tug or curtail it solely because it has insignificant effect and consequence, it rides the back of that indulgence and backfires. The minor issue of yesterday, when left unattended or given the least of consideration, becomes the biggest trouble of today and the looming disaster of tomorrow.

A case study in Nigeria’s incessant security ordeal. From the preventable event that led to the birth of Boko Haram in the North East to incompetence that saw the renaissance of kidnapping in the North West and the impassive nonchalance that underpins the thrive of murderous IPOB/ESN in the South East. All these menaces besetting this country today started as problems that could be averted. But the authority charged with this onus chose to go with the approach of levity and lackadaisical confrontation in eradicating them.

Despite the warnings of the impending doom and peril signalled by the early threats of these instabilities, the government was acting with careless flippancy. And this allowed the yield and spread of these acts of terrorism and abetted their growth in a fashion that the thrive of one led to the birth of the other. The lasting of Boko Haram against the effort to wipe them off added fillip to the resurgence of kidnappings, with the added incentive of unaccustomed plight— Banditry. The outlawed IPOB found the stimulus that motivated their cause to unleash terror in the South East from the inability of the government to find a lasting solution to the insurgency of Boko Haram. 

Harira, her unborn child, and four children were unfortunate victims of the country’s crass governance with no regard for human life. The perpetrators of their deaths were barbaric and bloodthirsty IPOB, but the government that allowed the monstrous operations of these savage beasts to prevail is of the bigger fault. Just days ago, a state legislature was decapitated within the same region Harira, and her kids were murdered. Before that, the ruthless mutilation of the military couple was perpetrated within the same area by the same group of demons.

Now,  imagine if swift action was taken after those two extrajudicial killings and the savages IPOB had met their waterloo. Poor Harira and her kids would have been alive today. This is just one to show you how the callous insouciance of the government has been the bedrock of the long-lasting terror in this country.

While we mourn the cruel murder of Harira and her family, bandits on the other end shot and killed 12 farmers in Katsina yesterday. An example that proves not only the northerners in the South are in the face of apparent danger and risk losing their lives, but also the many northerners in the comfort of their respective abode (North). There is no way to limit the killings and other strikes of the instability to tribal tensions alone. Of course, some were informed by groundless hatred and bigotry towards particular ethnicity. But look at the cause that sustains the frequent happening of these calamities. It is the disregard and unreadiness of the government to lay down proactive measures that will prevent the recurrence of these ordeals.

Crimes capitalize on the bloom of lawlessness, lawlessness prevails where there is rife injustice, and it remains the hallmark of bad governance.

May the killers of Harira and her kids never now peace in this life and the one hereafter, ameen.

Faruk Abdulkadir Waziri wrote via farukakwaziri019@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

No fewer than 15 farmers were reportedly killed when bandits roamed Gakurdi village in Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State Tuesday, March 24, 2022.

The incident took place amidst mourning after over 40 farmers were slaughtered by Boko Haram fighters in Borno State.

The Daily Reality reported how the farmers were being killed and some of the bodies were dismembered while some were tied up and their throats slit by the terrorists in Kala Balge local government area of the state.

Our reporters gathered that the victims of the Katsina attack were massacred as they were preparing their farms ahead of the rainy season.

According to the resident the bandits “came around 8:30 am today (Tuesday), using four motorcycles and started killing the people. Three were killed on the same farm and eventually it was discovered that up to 15 were killed on different farms.”

By Uzair Adam Imam

Unknown gunmen have launched a fresh attack on Danye Gaba village, Bugaje ward in Jibiya Local Government Area of Katsina State.

According to a source who pleaded anonymity, the traumatic incident took place around 1:30am on Tuesday, March 24, 2022.

The source also claimed that the movement of the criminals was known since around 8pm on Monday and different security agencies were alerted. He, however, lamented that no proactive measure was taken until the bandits raided the community and rustled a number of cows.

The bandits have reportedly rustled over 100 cows of the residents, the development that came barely few hours after unknown gunmen roamed and killed 15 farmers at Gakurdi village of the state.

It was gathered that Danye Gaba village is said to be situated about two kilometres away from the 17 brigade, a military barracks in Katsina.

The Police Spokesman in Katsina, SP Gambo Isah, said, “Right now, we are there with the CP to assess the situation.”

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 Uzair Adam Imam 

Citizens in Kahiyal in Bugaje word of Jibia, Katsina State, have bravely stood up to bandits who invaded the village to collect tax from the innocent people. 

The Daily Reality gathered that two armed bandits came into the village in broad daylight, asking people to give them money. 

The villagers feigned to oblige but only for one of them to quickly grab the bandit’s rifle while dropping the money. Other locals, who also had their weapons, helped him.

A citizen, Professor Abdussamad Umar Jibia, narrated the incident on his Facebook wall.

He said the bandits “stayed in one place and asked the villagers to contribute money and bring it to them. 

“The villagers did that. However, unfortunately for the criminals, the person who brought the money dropped it and quickly grasped the boy holding the rifle. 

“Other villagers who were ready with their local weapons rushed on the criminals and finished them off as it should be,” he said.

Insecurity and banditry are the major security issues bedevilling the northwestern part of the country, leading to thousands of deaths while numerous others are forced to migrate.

The criminals impose unlawful taxes on countless farmers and others living in the affected areas.

By Zaharadeen Muhammad

Some weeks ago, His Royal Highness, The District Head of Funtua, Sambo Idris Sambo, announced the confirmation of chieftaincy titles on some few outstanding sons of Funtua in recognition of their contributions to the town and the country as a whole. One of them is an unsung luminary in academia, and the health sector whose take off to educational journey began as Newton’s apple. But was it not William Shakespeare who likens the world to a theatre role with entrance – often by fluke, stage performance and exit? This time, Dr Umar Aminu’s entrance and performance will be profiled, and it will be quite the zinger.

Almost half a century ago, a religious scholar left Funtua for Katsina on a mission to supervise Islamic schools and carried his much younger brother with him. On a particular day, the curious lad wandered off to explore the new surrounding, and as fate would have it, he chanced upon a primary school in the neighbourhood. He surreptitiously tucked himself behind the door panel as he peeped into a class through the apertures relishing the nectar of the lesson.

He was to frequent the school many more times afterwards. Unknown to the school teachers and his brother, till the momentous day that his inert nature got the very best of him, he ventured an answer from his hideout to a puzzling question that appeared to elude the students sitting inside. Having gotten over his shock, the startled teacher identified where the voice emerged from, walked stealthily but tactfully toward the doorway and seized the kid. “he has to be enrolled,” thought the teacher. The brilliant boy in this tale was Dr Umar Aminu, and the elder brother was sheikh Aminu Liman of blessed memory. The anecdote was a watershed.

His academic sojourns would take him to Zamfara, Bauchi, Zaria culminating in him bagging a PhD in Public Health from Texila American University, USA. He gathered the mountain of knowledge and wealth of experience over the years working in public and private organizations and international agencies such as UNICEF, WHO, USAID, and FRIM. He brings to bear in solving various societal issues in Katsina state and beyond. To paraphrase sir Winston Churchill, what is the use of living if it is not to make this muddled world a better place for our posterity long after our departure.  

His first landmark contribution was to the health sector way back in 1999 when a glaring shortage of health personnel in the state was a cause of deep concern. Then, as a key member of the MSSN, he broached the idea at one of its meetings for establishing a centre for training health technicians who can, in the long run, make up for the inadequacy. The program began with only a handful of students and has metamorphosed into the world-class Muslim Community College Of Health Science and Technology, Funtua. Today, the school runs a wide range of health-related courses at ND and HND levels and draws a motley of students from every nook and corner of Nigeria.

His curiosity and a natural aversion to passivity and mediocrity made him the first to be on the ball whenever things appear to go south. That is why when there was statewide successive massive failures in SSCE between 1999 and 2003, a big blow to the quintessential reputation of the state in that regard,  instead of joining the wagon by stepping on the pedestal of lamentation, he met with stakeholders in the ministry to find out ways of ironing out the problem. He was one of the brains behind creating the refresher program, which, under the able stewardship of Malam Ilyasu Umar, has hatched hundreds of students who became medical doctors, pharmacists, engineers,  mathematicians, etc. Thus, leaving another indelible footprint in the sand of time.

His empathy and compassion dispose him to pursue numerous charitable causes, especially in education, where he has facilitated and personally offered many scholarships and grants to the less privileged. Moreover, his being a versatile and cynosure in education and business informed our decision to invite him to speak at our first (NIPES) public lecture themed ‘Our Economic Mindset’ held on February 2021. The advocate of functional education, self-development and entrepreneurship eloquently demystified our present unemployment crises that became ubiquitous clog and articulated sundry out of the box ways of putting a dent in the issue.

Dr Umar Aminu, The Danmasanin Funtua possesses most attributes our people recognize in the words of Anthony Kirk-Green as ‘Mutumin Kirki” in the book of the same title. These are truthfulness, trustworthiness, generosity, patience, good sense, bashfulness, courtesy, self-esteem, wisdom and scrupulous behaviour.  

“When a mother-cow is chewing grass,” said Chinua Achebe in Things Fall Apart, “its young watch its mouths”  We, the youngsters, have been watching from afar and up close and have drawn so much inspiration from his noble deeds. For these reasons and more, we join the joyous multitudes celebrating this well-deserved title. Allah shi tayaka riko, amin.

Zaharadeen Muhammad wrote from Abdullahi Aminci Road, Funtua, Katsina State via Zaharadeen2020@gmail.com.