News
Again, suspected herders kill infant, six others in Benue attack
At least seven persons were reportedly killed by suspected armed herders on Thursday night in Agbo Vengav Udam community, Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State.
The incident occurred just hours after gunmen, also believed to be armed herders, hijacked two commercial vehicles and abducted about 14 passengers near Naka, the headquarters of the local government area.
Sources told our correspondent that the attack took place around 7:00pm when the assailants stormed the community and opened fire indiscriminately on residents.
A local resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed via telephone that the attackers accessed the village through a border community in Otukpo LGA.
“They came in through the Otukpo border village, entered Agbo, and began shooting sporadically. Seven people were killed instantly, and they abducted three others,” the source said.
It was gathered that among the victims was an infant, while the child’s mother was reportedly taken by the attackers.
Five of the deceased have been deposited in a morgue in Naka, while the families of the remaining two opted for immediate burial.
The incident has sparked fear among locals, many of whom have reportedly fled their homes to avoid further violence.
Confirming the attack, Chairman of Gwer West LGA, Mr Victor Ormin, said multiple people were killed in the assault.
“It is true that a number of people were killed in Vengav Udam village on Thursday night. Two others who sustained critical injuries are currently receiving treatment at Naka hospital,” Ormin stated.
He decried the rising wave of attacks in the area, saying: “This is becoming unbearable. The activities of these armed herders in the local government and the state at large are escalating.”
Efforts to reach the Benue State Police Command spokesperson, CSP Catherine Anene, were unsuccessful as calls to her mobile phone went unanswered.
The Universal Basic Education Commission on Tuesday announced plans to introduce a new template for disbursing counterpart funds under the Universal Basic Education programme.
This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of the commission, Aisha Garba, during an interactive workshop with State Universal Basic Education Boards in Abuja.
Garba explained that the Federal Government, through UBEC, had recently restructured the delivery of basic education nationwide to align with four strategic pillars aimed at improving access and quality across states and the Federal Capital Territory.
She identified the pillars as expanding access to basic education, especially for rural and underserved populations; enhancing the quality of teaching and learning nationwide; strengthening accountability and the effective use of education financing; and optimising monitoring and institutional systems for quality service delivery.
She said, “The Hope Education Project of the present administration is a performance-for-reward initiative designed to support states that judiciously utilise resources in line with these four pillars.”
She added that the new approach had made it necessary to develop fresh templates that will guide SUBEBs in preparing work plans to access UBE intervention funds under the framework of the Hope Education Project.
Also speaking at the event, UBEC’s Deputy Executive Secretary for General Services, Tunde Ajibulu, described the workshop as timely and essential.
He stressed that the realignment of basic education delivery made the introduction of the new templates crucial.
“We expect you, as implementers of basic education in your respective states, to contribute positively and help develop workable templates,” Ajibulu said.
A Kano State High Court on Tuesday dismissed an application filed by former Kano State Governor and current National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear a bribery and misappropriation case against him.
The Kano State Government brought 11 counts against Ganduje, his wife Hafsat, son Umar, and five others, alleging bribery totalling $413,000 and misappropriation of N1.38 billion.
The other defendants include Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.
Delivering her ruling, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu dismissed all preliminary objections raised by the defendants, describing them as incompetent and lacking merit.
She ruled that the charges filed on May 13, 2024, were competent and that the matter should proceed to trial.
The judge further issued a summons to the sixth defendant, Lamash Properties Limited, and adjourned the case to July 30 and 31, 2025, for hearing.
Ganduje, his wife Hafsat, and son Umar, had through their lawyer, Mrs. Lydia Oyewo, filed a preliminary objection dated November 18, 2024, challenging the court’s jurisdiction and seeking to have all charges quashed.
In response, counsel for the state government, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), filed a counter-application dated October 22, 2024, urging the court to dismiss the preliminary objections for lacking merit.
Similarly, counsel for the third and seventh defendants, M.N. Duru, (SAN), submitted a motion on notice dated October 18, 2024, supported by a 14-paragraph affidavit and a written address, asking the court to uphold their application.
Counsel for the fifth defendant, Muhammad Shehu, also filed a motion dated October 18, 2024, and urged the court to grant it with substantial costs against the complainant.
Abubakar Ahmad, representing the sixth defendant, filed a preliminary objection dated September 9, 2024, supported by a nine-paragraph affidavit.
Additionally, counsel for the eighth defendant, Faruk Asekome, filed a notice of preliminary objection dated October 18, 2024, supported by a five-paragraph affidavit and written address, also seeking dismissal of the charges.
Justice Adamu-Aliyu, however, ruled that the objections lacked merit and cleared the way for the trial to proceed.
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