News

Matawalle gives ultimatum to unrepentant bandits, as FG set to deploy 6000 troops

Published

3 years ago

March 9, 2021

Ahmed Attahir, Gusau

Governor Bello Mattawale of zamfara state has issued a two months ultimatum to unrepentant bandits to key into peace Dialogue as federal government set to deploy additional six thousand troops to the state.

Addressing newsmen on Tuesday evening during a statewide broadcast at Government house Gusau,the governor insisted that activities of informants are becoming worrisome in the state.

He said the sad episode of jangebe school girls abduction has shook the people of Zamfara State Nigerians, and the entire world.

“It brought to the global attention the type of security challenges our state and many others in the north are battling with and the urgent need to take further steps to deal with the situation comprehensively”.

“We have already secured the release of all the 279 abducted students, hale and hearty. They have all been reunited with members of their families”

“As a fall out of my discussion with President Muhammadu Buhari and security high commands in Abuja, it was resolved that six thousand additional troops are to be deployed to the state to complement the current efforts by the security forces in the state”.

He revealed that the troops will soon arrive the state for their operations.

He further explained that Zamfara State has been declared by the national security council as a “no-fly zone” in addition to banning all mining activities in the state.

“Again, the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, has agreed to a timeframe within which the recalcitrant bandits should accept peace truce and surrender their weapons to the government”.

The governor maintained that the peace initiative of his administration has recorded a number of successes which include disarmament and recovery of weapons from the repentant bandits, securing the release of hundreds of kidnapped persons, opening of markets, and resumption of other economic activities across the state, and reducing the wave of attacks and killings of our innocent people, most especially in the rural communities.

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“Even though we are enjoying relative peace as a result of the dialogue and reconciliation programme, many bandits have refused to key into the programme and elected to sustain their attacks and other nefarious activities against our communities”

“Government has equally observed that there is sabotage by some unscrupulous elements, both within and outside the state.”

He said It was also observed that informants are becoming rampant and their callous activities undetected due to some people’s attitude of indifference.

“As a further push to bring to an end the activities of the recalcitrant bandits so as to bring lasting peace to the state, the government has decided to take the following measures:

The recalcitrant bandits have been given two months from today within which to embrace the peace process and surrender their weapons to the government;

“All political actors are hereby advised to desist from any acts capable of endangering the state’s security, as security agencies have been directed to monitor the activities of all the political actors and take appropriate action against the violators”

“Traditional rulers and Local Government Councils’ sole administrators are hereby directed to always remain in their respective domains to monitor the influx of any suspicious characters.

“Conveyance of more than two persons on a motorbike is hereby banned with immediate effect. Security agents are directed to arrest and arraign the violators of this order for prosecution.

“Government also prohibits the movements of a large number of motorbikes in all the nooks and crannies of the state. Security forces are hereby directed to ensure total compliance.

“Government observed, with dismay, the persistence of the activities of some yansakai, despite the banning of such vigilante groups. This order still remains in force”

News

Frontfoot Media to host its 5th Media Audit Reporting workshop in Gombe

Published

9 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Nigerian Tracker

By Asile Abel,Jos

FrontFoot Media Initiative has concluded plans to hold the fifth edition of its Audit Reporting Training programme for journalists to be hosted in Gombe State.

Statement by the Front Foot Media Initiative Training Coordinator Mr Chido Nwakanma said previous trainings were held in Benin, Awka, Abuja, and Lagos state.

He added that, FrontFoot Media Initiative will hold the training under the auspices of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism and the sponsorship of the MacArthur Foundation.

Mr Emeka Izeze, a director of FrontFoot Media, said “The Gombe programme will feature participants not only from Gombe but also from the neighbouring states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Plateau, and Taraba, a testament to the inclusivity and reach of Front Foot’s training initiatives. We look forward to training about 40 media personnel, each of whom plays a crucial role in our media landscape.”

Adding to the statement, Gombe State Governor, Muhammed Inuwa Yahaya would address participants in line with his agenda of openness and accountability.

Frontfoot Media Initiative also announced that Mr Ismaila Zakari, a past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, an Internal Auditor of Premium Pensions Abuja, and an ICAN Fellow, will lead the training supported by Mr Yusuf Doma, a Fellow of ICAN and Internal Auditor at Premium Pensions Abuja. Their expertise and guidance will ensure a high-quality learning experience for all participants.

The media and capacity building NGO described the programme as “a flagship capacity development programme of FrontFoot Media Initiative. It is a Collaborative Media Engagement for Development Inclusivity and Accountability project.

“In this effort, FrontFoot teams, accompanied by experts in the field, work in pre-selected states where they conduct free training for journalists. Participants learn how and where to locate the relevant reports, interpret the material, and write engaging news stories and features that enlighten, stimulate, and empower the electorate, and discourage impunity.” the statement added.

News

Babangida’s Military Contemporary, Lt. General Garba Duba, Passes On at 82

Published

1 day ago

May 17, 2024

Nigerian Tracker

A military contemporary of Nigeria’s former military President, Lieutenant General Garba Duba, has died.

General Garba Duba died at the age of 82. A native of Kontagora, Niger State, Duba held several positions during his military career, including serving as Governor of Bauchi State in 1978 and as Governor of Sokoto State during Buhari’s regime.

An impeccable source told NIGERIAN TRACKER that the funeral prayer for the late Duba was held today, Friday, after Jumuat prayer at the National Mosque in Abuja.

Governor Muhammad Umar Bago of Niger State and legislators from the state attended the funeral prayer.

He joined the army as a Cadet Officer at the Nigerian Military Training College Zaria in 1962, presumably a course mate of Ibrahim Babangida. At the beginning of his career, he was at the Indian Military Academy. Duba was one of the northern officers who participated in the Nigerian counter-coup of 1966 which led to the death of General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi. During the Nigeria Civil War, he was a Captain, commanding a squadron of armored vehicles. As military governor of Bauchi state, he provided infrastructure in the form of residential accommodation and offices, including secretariats for the newly-created 16 local government areas.

In 1993, he retired from the military and went into private businesses where he held positions like chairman, New Nigerian Development Company (NNDC), chairman of SGI Nigeria Limited, director in First Bank of Nigeria, non-executive director of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc and chairman of the board of Leadway pension fund.

News

ECOWAS Parliament to hold Second Extraordinary Session in Kano

Published

1 day ago

May 17, 2024

Nigerian Tracker

All arrangements have been concluded for the Second Extraordinary Session of the Sixth Legislature of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to be held in Kano, Nigeria.

The Second Extraordinary Session, according to the ECOWAS Parliament, will be held at the Bristol Hotel in Kano, the Commercial Centre of the country, between the 20th and 25th May, 2024.

President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, attended the inaugural session of the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament held on April 4, this year.

The Deputy President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Barau I Jibrin, emerged as the First Deputy Speaker of the assembly during the inauguration.

The event, according to a statement by the Special Adviser to the Deputy President of the Senate on Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudashir, will attract parliamentarians from Nigeria, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote D’ Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Republic of Togo.

The ECOWAS Parliament, also known as the Community Parliament, is one of the institutions of the ECOWAS. It is the Assembly of Peoples of the Community, serving as a forum of dialogue, consultation and consensus for representatives of the people of West Africa to promote integration.

In a statement signed by special adviser to Senate President on Media and publicity Ismail Mudassir said the ECOWAS Parliament which was established under Articles 6 and 13 of the ECOWAS revised treaty of 1993, is composed of 115 seats.