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In a brazen assault on Monday night, bandits struck at a mosque in Gusau, Zamfara State capital, abducting numerous worshippers during the Tahajjud congregational prayer.

Tahajjud prayer is a vigil normally held in the last 10 days of Ramadan preceeding Eid-el-Ftr.

LeadingReporters gathered that the attackers stormed the mosque during the night prayer and kidnapped the worshippers

Mannir, however, expressed uncertainty about the exact number of persons taken as captives.

“While the number of abducted individuals remains unconfirmed, authorities are actively pursuing the assailants,” Mannir added.

As at the time of this report, no ransom demand has been made, and no group has claimed responsibility for the audacious attack, adding to the prevailing sense of insecurity in the North-West.

This assault comes on the heels of heightened concerns over escalating banditry and related criminal activities in Zamfara State. Recall that just a week ago, Governor Dauda Lawal engaged in discussions with President Bola Tinubu to address the mounting security challenges in the state.

The Nigerian Army has confirmed a “minor explosion” within the Nigerian Army cantonment in Ikeja, Lagos, on Monday, April 1.

In a statement on Monday evening, the director of Army Public Relations, Onyema Nwachukwu, said no casualty was recorded during the incident that occurred on a farmland near the Mammy Market within the cantonment.

The statement reads: “This is to notify the general public that today Monday 1 April 2024, a minor explosion occurred within the Nigerian Army (NA) Cantonment in Ikeja, Lagos. The incident occurred on a farmland near the Mammy Market within the Cantonment.

The statement reads: “This is to notify the general public that today Monday 1 April 2024, a minor explosion occurred within the Nigerian Army (NA) Cantonment in Ikeja, Lagos. The incident occurred on a farmland near the Mammy Market within the Cantonment.

“The explosion is suspected to have been triggered by the burning of refuse and other inflammable debris by a farmer who cultivated the farmland.

“Fortunately, no casualty was recorded in the incident. However, given that the Cantonment was recently cleared and certified free of unexploded ordnances, we understand that there could be concerns among the general public as a result of the historical antecedent of explosion within the Cantonment.

“The NA therefore wishes to assure the public that the situation is under control as the NA Engineers Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team has cordoned off the area of the farmland to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the explosion. We urge residents in the general area not to panic and assure them of their safety.”

A fire outbreak that began in the early hours of Tuesday engulfed several shops at Owode Market in Offa, Kwara State.

A video of the incident seen by SaharaReporters captured the moment some of the shop owners were mourning as they watched their properties destroyed by the fire.

“This light is too much. This is not caused by NEPA (electricity). Maybe some people were cooking and the fire started from there because this light is much,” one of the traders said in the video.

A source from the town on Tuesday morning said the fire was eventually quenched by the personnel of Federal Fire Service and Kwara State Fire Service.

The source added that no fewer than five shops were affected by the inferno.

“The authorities are still assessing the situation, but personally, I know at least five shops were affected. The worth of goods and properties destroyed can’t be said now until the assessment finishes.

“There are also several claims as to the cause of the fire until we wait for the fire service to release their statement on it,” the source said.

Meanwhile, barely eight months ago, there was a report about a midnight fire razed a residential building in the town and destroyed property worth N6.5m.

The incident that occurred at about 1:05am at Kowope compound, Olorunkuse area, Offa, affected a two- bedroom flat and four shops.

In December, no fewer than 14 shops were reportedly razed by fire in two incidents that occurred in the Tanke area of Ilorin in Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State between Tuesday evening and the early hours of Wednesday

At least, seven shops at Zion Overcomer, Opposite Duro Suleiman house, University Road, Tanke, were reportedly burnt while the second incident also occurred at Tanke Oke-Odo area on University Road at about 1.30 a.m. on Wednesday, where another seven shops were destroyed by fire.

While confirming the incidents, the Kwara State Fire Service said that its men attended to the two fire incidents at different locations in the Tanke area and saved 16 out of the 31 shops engulfed by the raging fire.

The spokesman of Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, who confirmed the incident at that time, had said the quick intervention of the firefighters saved property estimated to be worth N13.3m.

Dr Kamar Abdulkadir, a lecturer of the Department of Physical and Health Education, at the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), has been brutally murdered in his office.

Abdulkadir was killed on Sunday when the attackers sneaked into his office and attacked him with a knife and hammer.

Intelligence sources revealed to Zagazola Makama, a Counter-Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad, that the victim was later found dead in the pool of blood with several injuries inflicted on his body by his killers.

The sources said ,“His hands were peeled off when he tried to stop the attackers from stabbing him. They also used a hammer to smash his head and his spinal cord, killing him instantly.”

The killers also carted away his vehicle and other valuables as authorities searched for the suspects.

Neither the Borno State Police Command nor the University authorities has issued any statement in respect to the murder of the lecturer as at the time of filing this report.

Jarigbe Jarigbe, senator representing Cross River north, on Sunday abandoned a live interview on Arise Television to avoid “wahala” over the 2024 budget.

In pidgin, “wahala” means trouble or problematic.

Jarigbe was the senator who alleged that some “senior senators” got N500 million in the budget for constituency projects.

His disclosure immediately led to a rowdy session during plenary.

During the breakfast show, the host said she found it fascinating that Jarigbe said he did not familiarise himself with the 2024 budget, and that she had gone through the line items of the appropriation act herself.

But the senator in turn asked her if she knew how much was voted for projects in her senatorial district.

The anchor replied by saying she only scrutinised the budget by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and not by senatorial districts.

The chair of the senate committee on gas said he only wanted to speak about his “thanksgiving and representation to my people”.

“Come oh, what is this budget, budget talk nah?,” the senator said in a mix of pidgin and English.

“I want to talk about my thanksgiving and representation to my people, you people are doing budget, budget. I will walk away oh. You people want me to say something that I will go and face wahala.

“You should allow me oh, let me serve my people quietly.”

The interview line went dead afterwards as the anchors repeatedly asked the senator if he was still there. He was not.

The budget came under scrutiny recently after Abdul Ningi, now suspended senator representing Bauchi central, said the spending act was padded by N3 trillion.

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Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna has tackled Governor Uba Sani for saying his father plunged the State into debt.

Recall that Governor Sani had on Saturday said the El-Rufai administration left a huge debt burden of $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities for the state.

According to governor, the state was now finding it difficult to pay salaries as a result of the debt which is being removed from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

Sani said, “Despite the huge debt burden of $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities sadly inherited from the previous administration, we remain resolute in steering Kaduna State towards progress and sustainable development.

“We have conducted a thorough assessment of our situation and are sharpening our focus accordingly. It gladdens my heart to inform you that despite the huge inherited debt of the state, till date, we have not borrowed a single kobo.”

Reacting to Governor Sani, Bashir tackled the governor saying he was looking for a cheap excuse for his incompetence.

Bashir stated this in a post via his X handle on Saturday.

The El-Rufai said, “These guys have realised that they are wholly incompetent and the only way to mask the nonsense is to deflect. From a Governor that is always sleeping in Abuja to a litany of incompetent aides that were only rewarded for foolish political reasons.

“One would think that from all the FAAC allocations these unserious clowns have changed to dollars, debt would be the least of their problems,” he said.

One of the soldiers drafted to curtail the alleged looting of foodstuff by residents of Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, has been accused of shooting one person dead on Sunday.

A source who spoke with our correspondent from the state confirmed that the victim was declared dead by authorities at the Federal Medical Centre in the state capital.

“Some of the soldiers drafted to protect the centre where residents looted foodstuffs on Saturday night went to a nearby shop to confront the shop owners.

“The soldiers, numbering three, engaged the shop owners in a fight, and one of them suddenly attacked the owner of the shop, mistaking him for being involved in the looting.

“He engaged one of the shop owners in a fight and, in the process, shot him in the chest.

“We immediately rushed him to the Federal Medical Center for medical attention, but unfortunately, he was confirmed dead on arrival at the hospital,” the source said.

Efforts to speak to the spokesman of the Nigeria Police Force in the state were not successful, as the command’s image maker, DSP Nafiu Abubakar, did not pick up his calls and a text message sent to his telephone had yet to be responded to as of the time of filing this report.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has advised Nigerians to be wary of scanning QR codes from unfamiliar sources, as they could be used for identity theft and illicit transactions by scammers.

It disclosed this information on Saturday via its official handle on X, a social media platform. A QR code is a type of barcode that stores information and can be read by a digital device. It also grants quick access to information and actions.

According to NITDA, these codes can be exploited by malicious actors to deceive and lure unsuspecting users into scanning them and to perpetrate fraudulent activities.

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NITDA wrote:

“QR codes can be exploited by malicious actors to deceive unsuspecting users and perpetrate fraudulent activities. Scammers utilize QR codes in various ways to achieve their nefarious goals, including:

• Phishing scams: Phishing scammers can generate QR codes that point to malicious applications or phishing websites. Users scan these codes thinking they are genuine and end up having their information stolen.
• Payment fraud: Scammers can create QR codes that start illicit transactions or reroute payments to their accounts, rather than to the intended recipients.
• Data theft: Threat actors may embed malicious payloads like malware or data-stealing scripts within QR codes. By exploiting security vulnerabilities in users’ devices, they can steal private documents, financial information, and passwords among other sensitive data.
• Identity theft: Users personal information, including names, addresses and contact details can be collected using QR codes inserted in fake advertisements or online surveys. The information can then be exploited for identity theft or other targeted frauds.“

It also listed some measures that can be used to prevent falling victim to QR code scams.

According to NITDA, some of these measures are: verifying the legitimacy of QR codes and associated links before scanning them, updating devices with the latest antivirus software and security patches regularly and using reputable QR code scanning mobile applications with built-in security features.

President Bola Tinubu will depart Abuja on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, for Dakar, Senegal, to attend the inauguration of Senegal’s President-elect, Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

The President’s trip is on the invitation of the Republic of Senegal.

President Tinubu, who is the Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, will join other regional leaders to witness the inauguration at Diamniadio Exhibition Centre on Tuesday.

The President will be accompanied on the trip by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, and other senior government officials.

The President is expected to return to Nigeria after the conclusion of the inauguration.

Some armed men, on Saturday, attacked and looted a luxury bus at Oke Ado Junction, Ijebu-mushin, along the Ijebu-Ode-Benin Expressway.

The passengers were said to be on their way to the southeast for Easter celebrations when the incident happened.

The hoodlums, after successfully robbing the passengers, decided to set the bus ablaze.

The spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, SP Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident to our correspondent on Sunday.

Odutola said, “It happened in Oke Ado junction at Ijebu Mushin. A luxury Mercedes Benz bus was burnt down. The vehicle was coming from Maza Maza before it encountered the hoodlums. No reference to gun was made.They (the hoodlums) wielded cutlasses.”

The 59-seater bus was said to be operated by Ifesinachi Transport Limited.

In a video uploaded on social media by Chude Nnamdi, some of the affected passengers narrated how they were accosted by the bandits who stole their belongings and set the bus on fire.

One of the passengers said, “Ifesinachi Motors, we were travelling in the night to come back to the East for Easter celebration, and criminals attacked us in Ijebu Ode along Ore-Benin Expressway.

“They robbed us of everything we had, some they stripped half-naked. They locked us inside the 59-seater luxury bus and set it ablaze. We thank God that we later escaped; nobody died, but everything we had was collected.

“We thank God that we didn’t lose anyone but we lost everything we were travelling with and some sustained injuries.

“This is Ifesinachi Motors that we are travelling with on Friday night and this attack happened around 2am.

“They stripped us half-naked. You can see it; the people in the vehicle are completely stranded. There are some people who were macheted and some who broke their legs. We have children among us.”