Category: News

There are confirmed reports from Katsina State that armed bandits attacked villages in Sabuwa Local Government Area killing three people on Monday night.

Residents said the attackers also took away about 50 people, mostly women and children, during the attack.

A local resident told the BBC that bandits had broken into shops and stolen goods, money and livestock, and that of the 46 people abducted, most were women and children.

He said the attackers had been following villages one by one, looting people and property without fear as security forces were far away.

The Sabuwa Local Government Area of ​​Katsina State, which borders Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State, has been hit hard by militant attacks.

Gistlover learnt the latest attack was carried out by gunmen in more than five villages on Monday night.

No fewer than thirteen persons have been confirmed dead, while over 40 others sustained varying degrees of injuries in rocket attack on Maiduguri by suspected Boko Haram.

As at the time of filing the report Tuesday night, a team of security, military, Civilian JTF and humanitarian workers were still combing the town for corpses even as the injured were assisted to the hospital.

Initial count of corpses have it that 13 persons were lost even as over 40 persons were reportedly injured

The major casualties were recorded at a football pitch in Gwange near the House of Late General Mamman Shuwa, who was one of the earlier casualties of insurgency in the state.

At the football pitch, nine boys who were playing football early evening were killed by the shot rocket.

Many others were injured at the football pitch by the rockets, which many said were ten in number fired simultaneously.

Other parts of the town was not spared the rocket launch believed to have been shot to destabilize the town, paving way for a massive attack by the insurgents.

At Adam Kolo part of the town, the rocket killed four persons and got many others injured.

Multiple sources said four persons were killed in the explosion in the area, which also resulted in injuries to many others.

One of the source, said a Mercedes Benz parked in the area was totally scattered.

He said that the corpses was removed and taken to the State Specialist Hospital.

He said those that were injured were equally assisted to the hospital to be treated.

When our correspondent drove to the place at about 6:30 to have a clear picture of happening, the entire area was cordoned off by Civilian JTF and some soldiers.

Many people were seen fleeing into other parts of the town with fear that it may be a prelude to further attacks.

One of those that spoke, said: “this is strange, in all the years of the attack on Maiduguri, we have not seen such massive rocket landing on us.

“We just need to flee into town for it is getting dark and we do not know what lies ahead.”

The military had to push the insurgents who were stationed around the town away with air bombardment to stop the town from getting infiltrated by the insurgents.

One of the top security source, who was contacted told our correspondent that he could not talk as they were still involved in getting those injured to the hospital and getting the town secured from being infiltrated.

All attempts to get the military and other security agencies to talk on the incident officially was unsuccessfully as messages sent to their known spokesmen were not replied and call to their mobile lines were not picked.

No fewer than 600 youths of Enugu State will be benefiting from the Youth ICT and Skill Acquisition Project (YISAP) of the Baywood Foundation.

Kicking-off the project on Monday in Udi near Enugu, Country Director of the foundation, Mr Chukwudi Ojielo, said that the training would involve 200 youths from a council area in each of the three senatorial zones.

Ojielo said that the Udi council area had been selected to represent the Enugu West senatorial zone; Igboeze North council area for Enugu North senatorial zone and Enugu East council area for Enugu East senatorial zone.

He said that at the end of the training, which would last for three months, a seed fund would be given to the best 100 youths among the 600.

The country director explained that those the seed fund of between N45,000 and N60,000 would be given to, would be those who performed exceptionally well in terms of attendance and learning capacity.

“Baywood Foundation is working in partnership with the Coca-cola Foundation to train 600 youths selected from three council areas in the three senatorial zones of the state.

“Coca-cola Foundation has provided us, the Baywood Foundation, with a grant to train the 600 youths, including the physically challenged, for three months on various empower skills that do not necessarily require a shop for a start.

“We would be training all of the youths on how to leverage on technology, the internet, as their mobile shop to get business patronage and get empowered.

“The trainees would be trained on barbing, make-up, household essentials, confectionaries, photography, photo and video making and editing; ICT and digital marketing design etc.

“However, each of the trainees must learn ICT and digital marketing design in order to use their mobile phones as their digital-mobile shops and skill promotion platforms without going to rent a physical shop,’’ he said.

On how the foundation selected 200 out of 675 that applied for the training in the Udi council area, Ojielo said that the criteria included; being resident in Udi council area; being between 18 and 35 years and having time for the training.

He, however, urged the trainees to take the skill acquisition seriously since for those selected; there were others not so lucky within the council area to benefit.

“The whole essence is to get empowered and help your family financially as well as teach others so that they can be empowered too,’’ he added.

Earlier, the Chairman of Udi council area, Chief Ifeanyi Agu, thanked the Baywood Foundation and the Coca-Cola Foundation for selecting the council area as one of the pilot council areas to kick-start the project.

Agu, who was represented by the Supervisor for Education and Youths, Mr Fred Ozo, urged the trainees to put in their best and take advantage of the opportunity provided at their door steps.

NAN recalls that the Baywood foundation, in January 2021, received a grant award of $98,925 from the Coca-Cola Foundation to empower 600 youths in Enugu state through Youth ICT and Skills Acquisition Project (YISAP).

In its bid to ensure the regular maintenance of its road network across Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing plans to concession no fewer than 12 federal highways to private entities to manage.

The arrangement would enable the private companies to introduce toll gates on the 12 highways and collect revenue which they would use and regularly maintain such roads.

This information is contained in a document, which Vanguard obtained, yesterday, from the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing in Abuja.

The 12 highways to be concessioned under the Ministry’s “Highway Management Development Initiative”, HMDI, are: Benin-Asaba, Abuja-Lokoja, Kano-Katsina, Onitsha-Owerri, Shagamu-Benin and Abuja-Keffi-Akwanga.

Others are: Kano-Shuari, Potiskum-Damaturu, Lokoja-Benin, Enugu-Port Harcourt, Ilorin-Jebba, Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta and Lagos-Badagry-Seme Border.