Metro
Herders kill farmers, burn crop harvests in Gombe communities
Two persons have been reported killed following two days of clashes between crop farmers and cattle herders in Powushi and Kalindi villages in Billiri Local Government Area of Gombe State.
Residents said the attack also led to the destruction of vital agricultural produce.
A resident of the area, Christina Anthony, told PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone interview that the conflict began on Monday when a group of herders robbed a resident of Kalindi who was riding his motorcycle to his farm.
“The herders attacked the man and stole his motorcycle. After he returned home, he shared his harrowing experience with the youth in the community.
“A group of locals tracked the herders and recovered the stolen bike. However, the situation escalated dramatically when the herders returned on Wednesday and attacked the villagers,” she said.
Another resident, Adams Mailaka, also told this reporter that the violence on Wednesday began at Powushi before extending to Kalindi, leading to the death of two individuals.
“Yesterday’s (Wednesday) attack started in the afternoon when the herders invaded Powushi, a village neighbouring Kalindi and set farm produce on fire. As a result, one person was killed. Again, they continued at night and killed another person. Many have sustained injury and are in the hospital receiving treatment”, he said.
He identified the deceased victims as Yusuf Akwara, 35, and a 30-year-old man he simply called Gad.
Mr Mailaka said many residents had fled Powushi and Kalindi to seek refuge in nearby villages as fear and uncertainty gripped the area.
This incident highlights the ongoing tensions between farmers and herders in the region.
The residents lamented the “ineffectiveness of security operatives” in addressing their security concerns.
Amos Danbauchi, a resident, said security operatives were slow to respond to distress calls, only responding after a representative was sent to the police division in Billiri LGA on Wednesday.
“Upon their arrival, the operatives merely observed the situation without taking decisive action,” Mr Danbauchi said.
He expressed disappointment that the security agencies did not deploy more operatives to the area to avert the second attack on Wednesday.
The communities urged the government to intervene and beef up security to prevent further attacks.
When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES, Ahmed Sanda, the divisional police officer (DPO) in charge of Billiri LGA, declined to comment.
However, the divisional crime officer (DCO), Garba Sambo, said the police had deployed officers to the area.
PREMIUM TIMES
A 37-year-old woman, Linda Stephen, on Tuesday, approached a Kaduna Customary Court, seeking divorce over her husband, Felix Stephen’s excessive sexual demands.
In her petition, Mrs Stephen, a resident of Ungwan Sunday in Kaduna, also accused her husband of beating her whenever she rejected his sexual advances. They have been married for six years.
She told the court that she was no longer interested in the marriage as she can no longer cope with the husband’s excessive demand for sex.
“I urge the court to dissolve this marriage because I can’t stand his excessive sexual urge. He likes sex too much, and I can’t bear it.
“Most times, he would have sex with me from midnight till early hours of the morning. Even when I am crying, he will not stop.
“It has been three months since I moved out of his house, his relatives have been pleading with me to go back to him, but they do not know what I am facing,” she said.
She further said that her husband does not control himself whenever he needed sex, and that whenever she refused his sexual advances, he would beat her up, even in front of their two kids.
‘I’m ready to control my urge’ -Husband
Stephen, in his response, told the court that he is in love with his wife.
He pleaded with the court to help him pacify her, and not to grant her wish.
Stephen said he had been pleading with her wife not to seek for divorce, as he was now ready to control his sexual urge.
“I took my uncles and friends to her parents house to plead with her. But she refused to listen to us instead she walked out on us,’’ Stephen said.
He further pleaded with the court to give him time to sort things out and reconcile with his wife.
The judge, John Dauda, adjourned the matter until May 6 for a feedback and outcome of the reconciliation, while advising them to maintain peace.
The Oyo State Police Command has rescued 84 Congolese from a human trafficking syndicate operating in Ibadan, the state capital.
The victims were allegedly held captive for an unknown period in a building located in the Orogun area of Ibadan.
Sunday PUNCH gathered that the victims were trafficked to Nigeria under the pretence of providing employment opportunities for them.
According to reports, the human traffickers had extorted large sums of money, reportedly in US dollars, from the victims’ families and relatives as part of their scheme to lure the victims into the country.
In a video shared by Channels TV, the rescued individuals, including a baby, were seen being escorted to police vans and buses.
The victims were later transported to the Police Headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, where they are currently being held while investigations continue.
However, attempts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer of Oyo State Command, Adewale Osifeso, for comment on the development were unsuccessful, as calls and messages to his phone were not responded to at the time of this report.
A tragic accident on the Oyo-Ogbomoso road in Oyo State has claimed the lives of several students who were on their way to sit for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination.
In a video clip seen by SaharaReporters, the incident occurred on the morning of Saturday. It involved a commercial vehicle conveying the students to a JAMB centre in Ogbomoso.
Eyewitnesses at the scene said the crash happened when the vehicle had a brake failure.
“Fatal accident claimed the life of the students that were going to write JAMB in OGBOMOSO on OYO road, Oyo State,” the video was captioned.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Oyo State Command, Adewale Osifeso has not responded to calls and messages confirming the report.
SaharaReporters reported that JAMB said it arrested 27 impersonators in the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
JAMB had noted the 27 impersonators apprehended had been handed over to the Nigerian police for immediate prosecution.
The board also announced that it delisted four Computer-Based Test, CBT centres that had failed to meet the stringent technical standards required for the UTME.
JAMB named the delisted centres as Adventure Associate, Behind Sheshe Supermarket, Off Hadejia Road, Kano, Kano State; Saadatu Rimi College of Education, Zaria Road, Naibawa, Kano, Kano State; Penta M & F Technical Services Ltd, Centre 2, 96km Sokoto-Jega Road, Tambuwal and Penta M & F Technical Services Ltd, Centre 1, 96km Sokoto-Jega Road, Tambuwal.
“While JAMB commends the 883 centres that have demonstrated exceptional performance, it unequivocally warns that any centre which failed the ethical or technical standards , regardless of ownership, will be blacklisted,” JAMB said in a statement on Friday by its spokesman, Fabian Benjamin.
“Candidates who were previously scheduled to take their exams at the delisted centres are urged to urgently reprint their examination notification slips to access their new centres and rescheduled dates. We regret any inconvenience this may cause, but we will not tolerate excuses by candidates who fail to reprint their slip to get their new schedules,” it said.
The board revealed that “As of Friday, 25th April, 2025, over 900,000 candidates have successfully completed the UTME out of the 2,083,600 registered for the 2025 examination.”
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