Terrorism

By Musa Kalim Gambo

Before this kidnapping, banditry, and terrorism got to this scary stage, I consider(ed) Giwa my favourite and adopted Local Government in Kaduna State. This is a place where I have the largest number of friends in Kaduna State; many of these friends have come to assume the status of brothers to me. Not long ago, I visited Giwa frequently, almost weekly.

Now all things have changed. Giwa has become an epicentre of kidnapping and terror attacks on innocent individuals. Criminals attack people at home and on their farms; kill and abduct for a huge ransom. In the past few weeks alone, the rate of this criminality has intensified geometrically. Due to this tragic development, some villagers have been forcefully displaced. They have had to migrate to the Giwa town, which is relatively safer than their communities. About 3,000 of these displaced persons now take refuge in camps in Giwa town, Marabar Yakawada, and Yakawada. While a large number of the displaced persons have also moved to stay with their relatives in neighbouring towns of Sabon Gari and Zaria in Kaduna State and Funtua in Katsina State.

The families who have been sadly uprooted from their homes have obviously been denied access to the arable rural farmlands. Beyond the refugee crisis, this will result in an attendant shortage of food in the towns, which may eventually spill over to the rest of the country. Therefore, it is evident that life will not be easy for them in their camps and the host communities.

These refugees now have to contend with the gory reality in town, that while they run for their lives, they also definitely need food, medical attention and clothes to survive in their new temporary settlement. It has been reliably reported that the Giwa Local Government Chairman, Dr Abubakar Shehu Lawal, has made provisions for feeding them at various refugee camps in Giwa and across the Local Government. Also, Senator Uba Sani is reported to have delivered some relief items to the camps. This is indeed commendable. The local politicians have indicated a high level of commitment to responding to the plight of their people in distress.

However, all these are not enough. What is needed is a total end to this incessant spate of killings and kidnappings in Giwa. Within the week, this was one of the major issues raised on the floor of the House of Representatives by Honorable Shehu Balarabe, a member representing Giwa and Birnin Gwari federal constituency, in a motion of urgent public importance. Honourable Balarabe, in a very emotional tone conveying the gravity of the situation, highlighted the depth and dimension of the troubles and crises that these banditry, kidnapping and senseless killings have plunged his constituency in both Giwa and Birnin-Gwari. He called on the Federal government to direct all the relevant agencies to swing into action in order to address the crisis.

It is sad to note that the two Local governments that Honorable Shehu Balarabe represents at the House of Representatives are the two most dangerous places in Kaduna State in terms of banditry and kidnapping today. So it is easy to understand the difficult situation in which the Honorable finds himself as one of the voices of these people in Abuja. Birnin Gwari suffers way too much from the atrocious attacks of these bandits, and it also has its refugee crisis as well. However, I write on Giwa because of my deeper connection and access to the situation there.

So to an appreciable extent, it may well be concluded that the political leaders from Giwa are playing their roles to bring an end to this madness that has continued for too long. However, what remains is the commitment on the part of the federal government, which obviously does not seem to render any positive outcome yet. There has been a military presence in Giwa and other bandit infested communities. However, it has remained a puzzle that the criminals could still carry out attacks almost every day without any hindrance.

The month of Ramadan has just begun. While we keep calling on the governments at all levels to aid these communities in crises, it is also important for us to use this holy month to pray to Allah to provide succour and restore peace and sanity in the land. It is now evident that we should no longer pray for Allah to guide these criminals aright, no! They have unleashed an unforgivable magnitude of terror on our land. The least we can do now is pray for an eternal condemnation upon them, starting from here on earth. It should also be our point of prayer that whoever supports these criminals, in whatever way or means, from their informants’ right to the supply chain of their arms and ammunition, should face eternal perdition and body crippling afflictions here on earth before they meet their worse punishment in hell.

Finally, may Allah grant our leaders the will and ability to put in place the right measures to end these killings and kidnappings. At the same time, we should assist these displaced persons with the little we have in terms of food items and clothes; I have also seen a group of youths on Facebook led by the immediate past president of the Giwa Students Association, Nuhu Haruna mobilizing funds on Facebook to assist these displaced persons. We should contribute as much as we can.

Musa Kalim Gambo writes from Zaria and can be reached via gmkalim@hotmail.com.

By Najeeb Maigatari 

The recent attack on travellers along the Abuja-Kaduna road is shocking. The fact that those ‘terrorists’ could now detonate explosives before killing and kidnapping innocent people is damming and quite alarming. It says a lot about our security system. 

It also sends a clear message to everyone that no one is safe. We are all in this mess together; the ordinary people and the ‘elites’ alike. No transportation system is secure in the country. One could now be attacked when travelling by road, railway or even by air. 

The unfortunate train attack is not the first of its kind- and will seemingly not be the last unless the needful is done. The only difference is that this time around, unlike other attacks before, the ‘terrorists’ appear well-armed, more audacious with the hunger to kill, which shows their daunting strength. 

Those terrorists have been attacking villages and killing people, especially in the northern part of the country, where such attacks have become the order of the day. They have established themselves as an authority with several villages under their control. Some of their brutal attacks and heinous crimes are underreported in the news media. 

According to the Nigeria Security Tracker (NST), in a report published from January to February, at least 1761 people lost their lives across the country in incidents related to insecurity and protracted armed violence. 

Under our noses, our beloved country, once a nation of peace and tranquillity, is gradually turning into the likes of Somalia, Libya, and Afghanistan or worse; today’s Nigeria has become a slaughterhouse, and its citizens turned into walking corpses. 

Even worse, most of those killed are people trying to make a living for themselves and their families. People are killed in their homes, offices, markets, on roads, and virtually everywhere. It’s practically killings everywhere at every turn under every circumstance. 

It suffices to conclude at the moment that there’s seemingly the creation of ‘a state within another’. On the one hand, there’s almighty sovereign Nigeria – that continually fails to protect its citizens – and on the other hand, the hypothetical terror nation ruled by such terrorists as Boko Haram, bandits, kidnappers and the likes. 

The government is evidently failing – woefully so – in its fundamental responsibility of securing the lives of citizens, as they swore to do before taking over from the previous administration. 

Therefore all hands must now be on deck to nip in the bud this issue that threatens our existence irrespective of gender, ethnicity, religious or political affiliations. 

To begin with, the government should be bold enough to fish out and address the ultimate cause of all these crises, such as answer the question as to the genesis of the terror groups, their sponsors, financial channels, sources of arms and weaponry, contacts in the community, etc. 

In addition, such factors that tend to inflame the situation as poverty, social injustice, illiteracy, etc., should also be proactively addressed by devising measures to assuage people’s suffering and displeasure. 

Furthermore, the security forces should be well equipped with state-of-the-art weapons to take the war to the terrorists’ camp. They should also engage the public as people. If people can get trained, they can be utilized for intelligence gathering, informant tracing, reporting suspicious activities, etcetera. 

In conclusion, the people should also cooperate and work hand-in-hand with security forces and other relevant government agencies in every way legally possible in order to curtail the worsening insecurity crisis ravaging the country once and for all. 

Our lives must matter as long as we continue to call this our homeland. We should not allow those ‘terrorists’ to take over our homes and rule our lives in perpetual fear. If those in authority cannot secure our lives, they should honourably step aside and let competent individuals take over the helm of affairs in the country. Enough is enough! 

Najeeb Maigatari writes from Jigawa State and could be reached via maigatari313@gmail.com.

By Mohammed Baba Goro

God knows how hard I’ve been suppressing this uncontrollable urge to write about the damning insecurity, especially that of the bandits. Yes, our hues and heys do not matter, but the sigh that comes with someone pouring the biting grief of his heart out is a relief! Again, I wouldn’t want to get emotional in doing that, but the situation of insecurity is enough to cause any well-meaning leader to lose sleep.

I felt cold when all northern leaders could give President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) during the convention as pass mark was hearty cheers, especially the remarks by the Senate President and Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State. The governor just lost over 60 vigilantes in one ambush, alongside police officers and a DPO. Yet, it all sounded like all was well with the North and the country.

The economy, insecurity, and corruption are the hallmarks promises of this administration, yet these are the areas the regime has failed the most. Even when you try to tinker with them because of some sparsely built infrastructures – though this is typical of every administration; the high economic numbers that have dragged more people into poverty keep staring at you in the face to have a second thought.

The recent attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train reaffirms that we don’t learn a lesson. The government is inactive, and this is an outright failure of leadership that has deserted the masses on the mercies of the Almighty.

All these tell us that, on the one hand, there is a disconnection between what those in the president’s echo chamber tell him and the reality the masses face. And on the other hand, the executive inaction of its leaders. If not, their remarks to Mr President at the convention shouldn’t have been praises alone but a mixture of some honest and collective concerns about the bleeding North and the urgent need to get to grips with it. 

I hope and pray Mr President will write his name in gold, at least for his last days in office, to exterminate these destructive elements and redeem the promise of peace and security he made amidst tears to his Northern kith and kins, and for him to have a befitting retirement.

Mohammed Baba Goro writes from Mokwa in Niger State. He can be reached at: mohammedbabagoro3@gmail.com.

By Mukhtar Ya’u Madobi

Another national embarrassment almost happened over the weekend. But alas, it wasn’t fated. Reports indicated that a group of bandit-terrorists, about 200 swarmed the Kaduna International Airport located in Igabi Local Government Area of the State.

The incident temporarily led to the disruption of activities, including the grounding of an Azman Air Lagos-bound aircraft. In addition, a security officer attached to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) also lost his life.

It was learnt that the terrorists were on a revenge mission after some Nigerian military troops neutralized scores of them and equally retrieved some rustled cattle in their possession.

However, this unfortunate development is coming after another security breach had occurred last year, when the same category of criminal elements–bandits–invaded the country’s highest defence and security training hub, the Nigerian Defence Academy, NDA, in Kaduna.

Aside from killing some soldiers, reports claimed that the bandits abducted a senior military officer.

Nevertheless, the level at which these non-state actors are resurging and unleashing violence at will is something that needs to be treated with the adequate attention it deserves. Government and security agencies should live up to their expectations to surmount these lingering security challenges that disturb our nation’s peace.

It has been noted that an efficient transport system is part and parcel of national security as it entails the movement of people and goods from one place to another across the length and breadth of a particular geographical location. But in today’s Nigeria, it is disheartening to learn that people no longer travel comfortably with peace of mind due to uncertainties associated with our entire transport system.

For example, looking at the land transport system, the roads are in bad shape caused by numerous potholes that can easily plunge a motorist into an accident. Apart from that, the roads are also not safe as bandits, kidnappers and armed robbers are always having a field day launching attacks on commuters, robbing them of their hard-earned properties, abducting or even killing them.

Even the trains are no longer safe as terrorists have since devised a means of exploding rail tracks, thereby forcefully bringing them to a halt to pave the way for them to carry out their nefarious activities on passengers.

The recent bombing of the Kaduna-Abuja rail track by bandits is one of the worst attacks on the Nigerian transport system. Several passengers were killed, others got injured, while scores were equally abducted and yet to be accounted for.

Similarly, Nigeria’s waterways are also dangerous because they are swarmed by pirates who rob ships and sometimes abduct the entire crew only to release them upon payment of ransom. With the recent attack on the airport, it is right to deduct that the entire Nigerian transport system is compromised and has lost its calibre to serve the functions it is known to deliver.

The time is long overdue for Nigeria to rise to the challenge of safeguarding airspace and other transport sectors from the menace of criminal elements.

The importance of airspace and aviation security has been captured effectively in Nigeria’s National Security Strategy (NNSS 2019), a document published by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Babagana Monguno, a retired Major General.

According to the document, “Efforts to secure the Nigerian airspace will be led by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) in collaboration with other relevant agencies. Considering the vulnerability of the airspace, the NAF will employ preventive and protective measures to guard against airspace violations through [the] enforcement of international and national air laws.

“In addition, the NAF will deploy its resources to ensure the integrity of Nigerian airspace is maintained at all times. This will include [the] conduct of aerial surveys and delineation of security zones and liaison with appropriate agencies towards the completion of the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) project to ensure effective monitoring and airspace security.

The primary stakeholders principally concerned with safety and security in the aviation sector include the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), among others.

The role of these agencies is expected to be coordinated and enhanced in line with extant legislation and policy on Nigerian Aviation Security.

Nevertheless, another evolving phenomenon in airspace security is the preponderance of drones which constitutes safety challenges such as air misses and mid-air collisions with manned aircraft and security challenges such as air space violation, penetration of prohibited airspaces, a threat to VIP security, terrorism and espionage. Others are law enforcement challenges such as drug trafficking and proliferation, all inimical to national security.

To properly secure airspace and the aviation industry, the government must ensure the continuous provision of modern and up-to-date equipment and the promotion of adequate training and professionalism of various agencies handling different aspects of aviation security.

Additionally, Standard Operation Procedures must be developed to streamline the roles and responsibilities of the various agencies to optimize their performance and enhance the cohesion of their personnel.

Furthermore, it is imperative to ensure the development of standard safety protocols and resilience to protect critical aviation information infrastructure against cyber-attacks to enhance aviation security.

Mukhtar wrote from Kano via ymukhtar944@gmail.com.

By Khadijah Tijjani

It has been a while since I wrote about issues of national interest. I have decided to steer clear of such conversations because I doubt if it is really worth it. I used to pride myself in being a patriotic Nigerian until about a decade ago when the post-graduation shock shook me to the marrow.

Fresh out of medical school, I was determined to serve my country “with love and strength and faith”, using my knowledge and skills. But I was greeted with a cold welcome into a moribund system – a system that had almost nothing to offer but was ready to suck your sweat and blood and abandon your remains when you’re done with your heroism.

This is not about me and how I lost hope in the fatherland. If I’m still alive, I’ll tell you the whole story some other time. My grouse for today is stimulated by the recent terrorist attacks on the Kaduna-Abuja train. I’m sorry to bore you with this rant; I hope it makes me feel better. I’m just here to let it out and stop pretending to be oblivious.

I despise horror and tragic movies because of some traumatic scenes I watched as a kid. One of such movies is THE BURNING TRAIN, a Bollywood blockbuster that made waves in the early 80s. Vinod, a railway engineer, launched the Super Express, a dream project that was India’s fastest passenger train. Unfortunately, the train went out of control on its maiden journey due to a bomb planted by a rival. Directed by Ravi Chopra, the movie was known to have moved millions of people to tears.

Every time I replay that movie in the part of my brain that stores it for over two decades, I struggle to hold back the tears.

I never imagined something strikingly similar happening in real life, claiming several lives so close to home. The terrorists, having succeeded in stopping the Kaduna-bound train, reportedly shot sporadically and held the stranded passengers hostage for over an hour.

One of the victims was a promising young colleague – Dr Chinelo. This was a brilliant doctor who could have discovered the next best treatment for cancer, HIV or another disease yet unknown. But instead, she was wasted a few days after obtaining her GMC licence to practise in the UK.

Could she have survived if we had quick and effective disaster response teams? Only God knows.

She was lucid enough to tweet a distress call and probably breathed for a couple of hours before kicking the bucket. But what sort of treatment did she get? Welcome to Nigerian hospitals!

The train attack happened less than 24 hours after a similar incident along the same route. This mishap rekindled my memory of that catastrophic movie, The Burning Train. I’ve been trying not to talk or write about it, but my heart can no longer contain the pain.

I am a woman of faith and believe in the power of prayers. However, we’re on a burning train in this country, and faith is not enough to quench the fire.

This train is burning, and the political leaders are going about their rallies, spending millions of naira on branded clothes and live bands.

This inferno is consuming the best amongst us, but the worst amongst us are winning and dining.

This country is burning like wildfire, but there’s no fire truck anywhere.

They say there is light at the end of the tunnel. But the end of this burning tunnel is obscured by thick smoke that can kill faster than the fire itself.

We seek your aid, yaa Allaah!

Khadijah Tijani is a medical doctor. She writes from Ibadan and can be reached through askodoctorkt@gmail.com or @AskDoctorKT.

By Suleman Ahmad Tudu

One of the immediate decisions of Gov Bello Matawalle’s administration was disbanding the vigilante group popularly known as Yan Sa Kai as one of the conditions for dialogue with bandits in his efforts to bring a solution to the decade of bloodshed in Zamfara state. The dialogue has recorded some early successes in almost a year of its initiation.

Unfortunately, despite being given this ample opportunity for the bandits to completely lay down their arms and embrace a lasting peace, some of them refused to subscribe to the dialogue. They continue launching and intensifying their deadly attacks on communities—killing, kidnapping and rapping women unabated, taking advantage of the vacuum created by disbanding their sworn enemies, the Yan Sa Kai.

Some negative implications of disbanding the Yan Sa Kai are that many communities that gallantly resisted bandits before the disbandment have now submitted to them. Palaces that were no-go-areas to bandits before have now become accessible to them. As a result, the morale of many vigilante members has been killed. The bandits have also taken advantage of the dialogue to deceive the government and get many resources. They kidnap many people, including school children, for ransom to procure more arms.

But we can honestly understand the justifications behind the disbandment of Yan Sa Kai in the first place as a sine qua non for dialogue to thrive. The activities of this group have fuelled the crisis for their jungle justices—extrajudicial killings and ethnic profiling of criminals. All Fulanis are bandits to the Yan Sa Kai, which is wrong!

Now that Gov Matawalle has reversed his decision to reactivate the Yan Sa Kai in the fight against terrorism (banditry), which is very good, there is a need for a caution in the recruitment, administration, and operations of the about to be born-again group. We need Yan Sa Kai guided by rules of engagements, monitored by security forces and coordinated by established authority. We need Yan Sa Kai with some basic military training and improved weaponry, not the locally fabricated, non-cartridge guns, bow and arrows that cannot match the arsenal of the terrorists.

Achieving this requires efficiency right from the recruitment process. Government should not simply dust off the list of the previous members without scrutiny to fish out those whose morale has been killed or no longer believe in the course of the group. Liaising with traditional institutions will be an effective way only if those who have cases to answer are side-lined in the process. Government should also not mistake recruiting members of the born-again vigilante group from the communities that were adjudged to have wholly submitted to bandits before or during the dialogue initiative. These measures could help avoid enlisting bad eggs who would compromise or sabotage the group’s activities.

Training of the carefully selected and thoroughly profiled members of the group will go a long way in shaping their mindsets and inculcating in them the rules of engagements, discipline, command, control and coordination. It will also mend their relationship with the security forces with which they should work together as a team. This can be possible within at least a month of rigorous training.

Granted that Yan Sa Kai knows the bandits, their collaborators and hideouts better than the security forces, yet storming weekly markets in the name of hunting bandits or their collaborators is a flawed strategy that has to be changed. They used to carry extrajudicial killings during such operations that sometimes affect innocent people. This time around, the group’s approach should be offensive by jointly reaching out to the bandits’ enclaves together with security forces now and then. And if the group has to defend and hunt, the defence should be restricted to every member’s immediate community while the hunt should be on the checkpoints to be placed in strategic places. 

While NO suspect deserves to be (extrajudicially) killed but arrested and prosecuted accordingly, I can command that any civilian seen wielding an AK-47 rifle should be “shot at sight” as ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari!

May Allah grant us everlasting peace in Zamfara and Nigeria at large. Amin.

Suleman Ahmad Tudu wrote from Nasarawa Mailayi of Birnin Magaji local government, Zamfara state. He could be reached via suleatudu@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Federal Government has disclosed why it declined to designate bandits as terrorists, saying that it is because of international best practices.
Recall that in November, last year, a Federal High Court in Abuja granted an ex parte application for gunmen and terrorists to be declared as terrorists.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), made the disclosure in a TV show, NTA’s Good Morning Nigeria Show.

He said that the process would be concluded in a matter of days, adding that the court judgement that ordered the government to declare bandits as terrorists would be gazetted.

However, Malami was quoted as saying: “Government has a responsibility to act but within the context of acting, you equally expected to operate within the confines of international best practices associated with engagement and one of such best practices is that you can only use maximum force on groups, individuals that are declared terrorists and that is where the application of the Terrorism Act comes in place.

“With that in mind, Nigeria acted, first by proscribing IPOB, taking into consideration the threats to lives and properties they have caused in the nation. Boko Haram was proscribed.

“The gazetting of a court order or judgement is a process but what matters fundamentally within the context of [the] international convention is the judicial declaration and that has been obtained; the court has declared bandits, kidnappers, cattle rustlers as terrorists.

“So, with or without the gazette, what gives effect to such declaration is a judicial pronouncement but the gazette is a mere formality and it has been on and I believe within a matter of days, it will be concluded,” Malami added.

By Uzair Adam Imam and Muhammadu Sabiu

The Nigerian presidency has been criticised for failing to immediately offer its condolences to the families of the travellers from Sokoto State who were burnt to ashes by terrorists.

Reports have indicated that the bandits set a vehicle conveying no fewer than 42 passengers ablaze in Sokoto, northwestern part of the country.

What kept the presidency mute after the merciless killing surprised many people, who criticised the government for showing indifference to such a horrible incident.

The Daily Reality learnt that the merciless killing took place on Monday around 09:00 in the morning but was reported Tuesday due to some technical issues.

The security threat of this sort is one of the lingering issues that rock the northern region of the country and succeeded in turning it into a killing field. Scores of people are killed every day, and nothing tangible is seen from the people of authority.

An eyewitness confirmed the incident, saying: “The car which was transiting passengers from Sabon Birni was set ablaze at Gida Village, a few kilometres away.”

According to our source: “I was called when the incident was happening. My uncle, his wives and their four children were some of those that have been killed in the bus.”

Before the presidency mourned, the residents of Sokoto State have been voicing their complaints bitterly, saying that why should the president keep mute on such a brutal massacre of innocent travellers? According to them, this is a national tragedy that deserves national mourning.

Mu’azu Malami lamented that: “It is unfortunate and heartbreaking to have read what had happened to our brothers on Monday. This has indicated that there is a need for the government to do more to ensure the safety of its citizens. And I don’t buy the idea of banning vigilante groups in the state,” he added.

Before the presidency released its condolence statement, he lamented that: “Up to now, there has been no official condolence from the government.”

Chairman Arewa Media Forum, Comrade Abubakar Dahiru, in an interview with our reporter, lamented that: “Neither did the government mourn anyone nor did it take any action.

“In addition to that, the government has even banned the vigilante group in the state despite their tremendous contribution,” he added.

Abubakar Mande said that: “The incident is very sad, and the lives of people are no longer taken as important. As we are mourning this loss, another bad one will occur again. It goes on again and again as it is becoming normal.

“But the silence of the government not to comment about the issue comes to us with great shock,” Mande added.

Also, many social media users from Northern Nigerian aired their grievances over the delay by the presidential media team to offer their condolences, which they did 48 hours after the incident.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Federal Government has uncovered the sponsors of the self-acclaimed activist, Sunday Igboho, some of whom are known to have connections with terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram.

The disclosure was made at a press conference held in Abuja on Friday, October 23, 2021, by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN.

It has been reported that the government has unravelled how Igboho got money from 43 bank accounts, transferred to him by his sponsors.

According to Malami, a committee was set up to carry on an investigation on this self-acclaimed activist.

The 24-member committee comprised of members of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Federal Ministry of Information, Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services, National Intelligence Agency and the Defence Intelligence Agency.

Malami was quoted saying: “The Federal Government has received the report on financers of Adeniyi Sunday Adeyemo a.k.a Sunday Igboho. The report revealed that Sunday Igboho is a director and signatory to Adesun International Concept Limited registered on 23rd April 2010.”

“Adesun International Concept Limited also has Oladele Oyetunji and Aderopo Adeyemo as Directors. Sunday Igboho is linked to 43 bank accounts in 9 banks.

“The major financier of the fugitive and separatists was found to be a Federal Law Maker in the National Assembly. A total sum of ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN MILLION, ONE AND FORTY-FIVE THOUSAND NAIRA ONLY (N127, 145,000.00) was received by Igboho from his financiers between 22nd October, 2013 and 28th September, 2020 through Adesun International Concept Ltd accounts.

“A total sum of TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-THREE MILLION, ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-EIGHT THOUSAND, TWO HUNDRED NAIRA ONLY (N273,198,200.00) transaction outflows was recorded from Sunday Igboho’s account between 15th March, 2013 and 11 the March, 2021.

“Investigation reveals that Adesun International Concept Ltd (belonging to Igboho) transferred the sum of twelve million seven hundred and fifty thousand naira (N12, 750,000) to Abbal Bako & Sons.

“It might be recalled that Abbal Bako & Sons and its promoter Abdullahi Umar Usman are suspects in the on-going Joint Terrorist Financing Investigation. Abdullahi Umar Usman is by way of financial transaction connected to SURAJO ABUBAKAR MUHAMMAD (who was sentenced to life imprisonment in UAE on charges of financing terrorism [Boko Haram]).

“This report shows the nexus between separatists’ agitation, terrorism financing and disruptions of peace in the country,” Said Malami.

According to a BBC report, “at least 16 people are dead and 32 injured after an explosion hit a Shia mosque during Friday prayers in the Afghan city of Kandahar.”

This act of terrorism has continued to pester among the Muslim communities in Afghanistan and elsewhere in various Muslim nations, with no clear cause and motive behind it. Such killings are perpetrated in order to tarnish the image of Islam and continue to ridicule the religion in the sight of others.

The recent “blast occurred at the Iman Bargah mosque. Pictures from the scene show shattered windows and bodies lying on the ground while others try to help.

The explosion’s cause is not yet clear but a suicide bombing is suspected.

A local doctor told our source that the injured worshippers were being taken to the Mirwais hospital.

BBC Afghanistan correspondent Secunder Kermani says that IS-K, a local branch of the Islamic State Group, was expected to say it was behind the attack.

Last Friday, a suicide attack on a Shia mosque during Friday prayers in the northern city of Kunduz killed at least 50 people. IS-K said it carried out the attack, which was the deadliest since US forces left at the end of August.

IS-K is violently opposed to the governing Taliban, has carried out several bombings recently.

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan after foreign forces withdrew from the country at the end of August following a deal agreed with the US.

It came two decades after US forces had removed the militants from power in 2001.