Folarin Kehinde

A former Ward Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Federal Capital Territory, Alhaji Alhassan Sidi Kawu, was among the 23 persons abducted by gunmen numbering about 40 who stormed Kawu Community in the Bwari Area Council of the FCT in the early hours of Thursday.

The Kawu community shares boundaries with Kaduna and Niger states.

The councillor representing the community, who is also the Deputy Speaker in the council, Abdulmumini Zakari, told newsmen that the gunmen arrived the community on Wednesday, from the Kuyeri Forest in Kaduna State.

He added that among the gunmen’s victims were the wife and son of the District Head, Alhaji Abdurrahman Danjuma Ali, alongside a former Ward Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party and his four children.

“They divided themselves into groups and some went into the palace of the District Head, Alhaji Abdurrahman Danjuma Ali, where they abducted his son, Lukman, and his wife, who he married two weeks ago. Others attacked the compound of Alhaji Alhassan Sidi Kawu, the Marafa of Kawu and a former PDP Chairman of Kawu Ward. They abducted him along with his four children.”

The bandits also reportedly went into the compound of Sarkin Pawan Kawu, Gambo Pawa, and abducted him alongside his two wives and some children.

In response to escalating security concerns, the Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has banned all political meetings and gatherings until further notice.

The decision, communicated through a statement by Paul Biam, the Chief of Staff to the governor, cites intelligence reports on the precarious security situation within the state.

The statement, which was also addressed to the Benue State Police Commissioner, George Chuku, underscores the need for preventive measures in light of the presence of armed herders in the state.

“I write to inform you that Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia has banned all political gatherings in any form, be it inter or intra-party or groups in Benue State until further notice,” the statement reads.

The governor’s directive calls for the strict enforcement of the ban, emphasizing the imperative nature of the decision given the volatile security atmosphere.

The influx of armed herders into the state has heightened tensions, prompting authorities to take preemptive measures to maintain public safety.

The statement concludes with an invitation for recipients to uphold and enforce the governor’s directive, ensuring compliance across political and social groups.

No fewer than 30 worshipers have been reportedly abducted from a mosque in Tsafe town, the headquarters of Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

LEADING REPORTERS gathered that the unfortunate incident occurred on Thursday morning when the terrorists invaded the facility while worshippers were observing their morning prayers.

It was reliably gathered that the assailants, who have been terrorising the area, invaded the mosque, shooting sporadically with sophisticated weapons before whisking the victims into the forest.

Efforts to reach the state police command proved abortive at the time of writing this report as the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Yazid Abubakar, did not pick his calls.

The displaced individuals, who sought refuge in camps due to the insurgency, cited hunger and harsh living conditions as their primary reasons for contemplating such a drastic move.

Reports indicate that several Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and even family members of repentant Boko Haram fighters have voiced similar threats.

The common complaint revolves around the alleged neglect by authorities, particularly in providing daily essentials such as food and other necessities.

Claiming that life was comparatively better under Boko Haram occupation, some IDPs and family members of repentant insurgents argue that the present circumstances in the camps are unbearable.

The lack of necessities and the absence of available farmlands for cultivation have fueled discontent among the displaced population.

A resident in one of the IDP camps, expressing the prevailing sentiment, lamented, “We took the decision to leave our families behind and relocate to the Boko Haram-controlled area because it is all about dying whether here or there.”

The families of repentant Boko Haram fighters echo these sentiments, asserting that the hardships in the camps have left them with no option but to consider returning to the territories controlled by the insurgent group.

Reacting to the development, Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum dismissed the complaints as baseless, stating, “Those who want to return to Boko Haram in the bush are free to do so.”

A Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Taiwo Obindo, has said that more Nigerians may be prone to developing mental health conditions due to the increasing economic hardship in the country.

Obindo, who is also the President of Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN), stated this in Lagos on Wednesday.

He said that the current economic hardship, coupled with the level of poverty and other social factors in the country might likely inflict mental illness on more Nigerians.

He listed the social factors to include high cost of living, kidnapping, financial problems, inflation, child abuse, rape, broken homes and broken marriages, traumatic experiences and degrees of violence among others.

Dr Obindo explained that people who were predisposed to the social factors were more likely to develop mental health issues particularly this period the country was faced with lots of economic challenges.

According to him, the Nigerian society is a culture medium for organisms that put people at risk of mental illness.

Obindo, who identified poverty as a leading cause of mental health illness, said that many Nigerians were battling with poverty; saying that might predispose them to mental health conditions.

The Nigerian government has ordered the arrest and detention of two senior executives at Binance in Nigeria in fresh move to crackdown on cryptocurrency trading websites operating in the country.

According to Financial Times (FT), a UK-based business news platform, the passports of the Binance executives were seized.

The news organization, however, failed to provide names of the two Binance executives.

It gathered that the executives flew to Nigeria following the country’s decision to ban several cryptocurrency trading websites last week but were detained with their passports seized.

Officials did not provide details on why the Binance employees are being detained and it remains unclear on whether they have been charged with any violations of Nigerian law.

Recall that the Bola Tinubu administration had blocked Binance and other crypto firms to avert what it considers continuous manipulation of the forex market and illicit movement of funds.

Other trading platforms banned include Forextime, OctaFX, Crypto, FXTM, Coinbase, and Kraken.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday raised concerns over $26 billion that flowed through Binance Nigeria over the past year from “unidentified sources”.

CBN governor, Yemi Cardoso, expressed worries over the significant volume of transactions passing through Binance Nigeria, emphasizing that the origins and beneficiaries of these funds are yet to be adequately identified.

“We are concerned that certain practices go on that indicate illicit flows going through a number of these entities and suspicious flows at best.

“In the case of Binance, in the last one year alone, $26 billion has passed through Binance Nigeria from sources and users who we cannot adequately identify,” he stated.