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2,600 people killed in 50 communities gunmen attacks – Amnesty International reveals
2,600 persons, mostly women and children, have been killed following attacks on 50 Benue communities between January 2023 and February 2024, Amnesty International says.
Amnesty International Programme Director, Mrs Barbara Magaji, disclosed this during a photo exhibition and news conference on Wednesday, in Makurdi.
Magaji further said 18 out of the 23 local government areas (LGAs) in the state, were constantly under security threats by armed attackers.
“These attacks are significantly affecting food security and livelihoods because the affected communities are farmers and displacement make them unable to carry out any farming activity.
“These displacements are having significant and adverse effects on the right to livelihoods, and depriving thousands of children of the right to education and development.
“As of March 2023 when the last counting and documentation was done, the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps and host communities accommodated a total of 489,245 IDPs,” Magaji said.
She further quoted the state’s Ministry of Education and the Teaching Service Board as saying that, at least 55 schools had been destroyed by armed bandits or closed down due to insecurity, leaving hundreds of children out of school.
She stressed the need for Nigerian authorities to end the attacks in Benue because they had a duty to protect lives.
She maintained that governments at all levels must ensure that these attacks were investigated and justice given to victims and their families.
“Nigerian authorities must ensure that suspected perpetrators of human rights abuses are brought to justice through fair trial.
“Nigerian authorities must investigate the security lapses that enabled gunmen to carry out attacks and get away with it.
“People who are displaced must be provided with adequate humanitarian support, standard of living and children’s education must be continued,” Magaji said.
Meanwhile, in his goodwill message, the Commanding Officer, 72 Special Forces Battalion, Lt Col. R.B. Kefas, who was represented by Lt Danjuma Abba, stated that criminality had been curtailed in all the crisis prone areas, promising that the efforts would be sustained.
Also, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Steve Yabanet, who was represented by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr Okon Asuquo, said that the police was working round the clock to reduce criminality to the barest minimum in the state.
(NAN)
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
US President-elect, Donald Trump’s incoming administration plans to immediately order a series of deportation raids targeting illegal immigrants after his inauguration.
Chicago is expected to be the first major city targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as part of Operation Safeguard, the New York Times reported, citing two people familiar with planning the undertaking.
The massive deportation operation is expected to target criminals and gang members in the United States illegally and run for one week.
Trump has promised to conduct the largest deportation program in U.S. history.
Up to 200 ICE agents are being sent to Chicago to help kick off the operation on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported. The agency has already asked agents to volunteer for the post-inauguration raids.
“There’s gonna be a big raid across the country,” Tom Homan, who will be in charge of U.S. borders once Trump takes office, told Fox News in an interview.
Homan has previously said he will instruct ICE agents to carry out raids on illegal immigrants at their workplaces.
In addition to Chicago, the sweeping crackdown will also target other major U.S. cities with large immigrant populations.
Trump is set to take the oath of office on Monday, January 20, in an inauguration that will take place indoors.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
A faith-based civil society organization, CSO that monitors and reports on Hajj and Umrah activities, the Independent Hajj Reporters, IHR, has commended the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, for selecting a different Saudi-based Hajj service provider for the 2025 Hajj season.
It said the decision would create healthy competition among service providers interested in efficiently, qualitatively, and satisfactorily serving Nigerian pilgrims.
The CSO, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Malam Ibrahim Muhammed, in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, and made available to our correspondent on Sunday in Abuja, said the quest for improved Hajj services has been a major challenge for Nigerian pilgrims owing to the repeated failure of providing satisfactory services.
”We applauded the decision to pick another service provider that will cater for the needs of pilgrims within the Masha’ir areas during the five days of Hajj,” he said
The national coordinator, who is currently in Saudi Arabia to monitor the pre-Hajj arrangements, said available information shows that the new company, Mashariq Al Dhahabia, is an experienced provider that has served top-rated Hajj countries, like Indonesia and Malaysia, and ranked among the top five Hajj service providers by the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
“The company served 249 706 which is the largest number of Hajj pilgrims during the 2023 hajj. They were awarded as the Best Hajj Service Providers during the 2022 Hajj by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah,” he stated.
IHR said it further understood that NAHCON is planning to recruit another service provider to provide services for very important personalities, VIP pilgrims so as not to repeat the experience of previous years, which is also a desired step forward.
It, however, urged NAHCON to set a parameter of performance for the newly selected service providers to serve as a baseline for determining continuous patronage, advising that such criteria should be based on pilgrims’ satisfaction and adherence to contractual terms.
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