₦airaland Forum

Residents of Bakale village in Kilgori district, Yabo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, have been ordered to pay a N20 million levy to prevent deadly attacks.

In an audio recording obtained by our reporter, the leader of the armed group instructed the village head to convene a meeting with residents and communicate the demand. “Did you meet with them? Did they agree to obey your command?” he asked.

After the village head responded in the affirmative, the bandit ordered him to summon the residents again and inform them of the fresh N20 million levy.

“We don’t want to attack you. That is why we decided to impose this levy,” the bandit said. “If you pay, I promise you will continue to live in peace. We will not allow any group to attack your community or kidnap your people. But if you fail to pay, we will attack you, kill you, and abduct your people. This is our message.”

A community leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that similar levies had been enforced on several neighbouring settlements.

The affected villages spanning Kilgori and Torankawa districts—include Bazar, Alkalije, Gari, Bakale, Dagel, Adarawa, Kwaidaza, Kilgori Runji, Tudu, Tile, Kibiyare, and Barmadu, among others.

According to the source, the levies range from N3 million to N20 million, depending on the size of each community.

He added that six people were killed in Alkalije and four in Tile during separate attacks two weeks ago.

Pascal9:
He is a very weak president

Nnamdi Kanu was at the Supreme court to file a motion on his trial today. However, as the IPOB leader left the Supreme court complex, many of the Supreme court workers left their offices and came out to hail him. Kanu acknowledged their cheers by raising his fists in the air.

Funtua Council Chairman Meets With Armed Groups In Katsina Amid Threats Of US Sanctions

The Chairman of Funtua Local Government Area in Katsina State, Hon. Abdu Goya, has embarked on a peace outreach to armed Fulani groups who have agreed to a truce with local communities.

Goya's meeting with the armed groups comes amid heightened diplomatic tension following United States President, Donald Trump’s threat of sanctions and Nigeria’s designation as a “country of particular concern,”

SaharaReporters was told that the visit, held in parts of Funtua, was aimed at consolidating "ongoing peace efforts" between the Hausa communities and the armed Fulani groups who had previously engaged in violent confrontations.

Meanwhile, Goya’s mission was said to have focused on fostering mutual understanding, rebuilding trust, and reinforcing dialogue between the warring groups.

He also used the occasion to push for the release of individuals abducted during past conflicts in the area.

It was gathered that Goya noted that the purpose of the visit is to deepen the peace process already initiated between the armed Fulani and Hausa communities.

Earlier, SaharaReporters reported that two community leaders were killed and several residents abducted on Thursday when bandits attacked Doguwar Dorawa, a farming community near Guga in Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Community sources had said the assailants invaded the village around 10pm, killing two brothers, Alhaji Bishir and Alhaji Surajo, despite an existing "peace deal" between the communities and the bandits.

A community leader, Mahadi Danbinta Guga, said they were killed in cold blood.

Residents said the attackers arrived on motorcycles, parked them in the bush, and walked into the village to avoid being noticed.

They had operated in the village for over an hour, killing, looting, and abducting people without resistance.

Residents said the attackers are believed to be loyalists of Idi Abasu Aiki and Kwashen Garwa, two bandit leaders operating in Bakori and nearby communities.

While Doguwar Dorawa was attacked, Layin ‘Yannehu was simultaneously raided, with bandits rustling a number of animals.

Similar incidents have occurred in Ganjar, Alhazawa, and Gidan Nagari in recent weeks, with over 40 people abducted and several families displaced.

Adaisback:
E no go better for kanu. Kanu must rot in jail. Since he created ESN, they have been killing the very best of our people . ESN have not slap a single Fulani since it's inception. They only kill and maim their fellow igbos. The best of the igbos at that

Human rights lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has said that politically sponsored cult groups, not the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, are the main drivers of insecurity in the South-East.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Odinkalu acknowledged that the separatist movement contributes to the insecurity in the region.

However, he described it as “ridiculous” to attribute every violent incident in the region to IPOB.

“Let me tell you this: the biggest single issue, in security terms, confronting the South-East, in my estimation, based on the work I have done on this, is, I regret to disappoint you, not IPOB, it is one word: cults, financed by politicians.


“All right? Now, the cults are the biggest single issue, and you don’t have a clue how terrible the problem of cults in the South-East is at this particular time.”

Odinkalu noted that the menace of cultism in the region has reached alarming levels, adding that political sponsorship has emboldened these groups and intensified insecurity. The ex-NHRC chairman maintained that there might be a connection between cultism and IPOB, but he stated that “cults financed by politicians, that is the biggest single security challenge confronting the South-East at this time.”

IPOB, he argued, cannot be sustained in certain communities in the South-East, which according to him renders the argument that the group is solely responsible for the insecurity in the five states exaggerated.

“Unquestionably, there is an IPOB issue, but the IPOB issue is overblown,” he said.

Odinkalu’s remarks come amid renewed attacks on security posts, police officers, and residents in parts of the South-East—incidents that have frequently been blamed on IPOB and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network.

He urged security agencies and policymakers to focus more on tackling politically motivated violence and the proliferation of cult groups, which he described as the “biggest single security challenge” confronting the region today.

KingOfAmebo:
Terrorist set up militia groups to kill innocent people, Nnamdi Kanu setup ESN a terrorist organization without any legal backing in a Sovereign Country Nigeria....That account alone is a treasonable offense.

Nnamdi Kanu is gone for good and cannot return, even if he kpai in detention NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WILL HAPPEN. You guys will just mourn him for a few days and move on with your lives.

The current protest will make it much more easier for the government to kpai him.

Amnesty International receives disturbing reports of attempts to crackdown on peaceful protests holding in Abuja, calling for the release of Nnamdi Kanu. Those arrested must be released immediately. People must be allowed to freely exercise their right to peaceful protest. Any act capable of undermining freedom of assembly is illegal and portrays unacceptable intolerance of peaceful dissent.

The Nigerian authorities must ensure that security agencies respect and facilitate the right to peaceful protest, as guaranteed by both the country's own constitution and human rights treaties, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.

Authorities must show a commitment to upholding the country's constitutional and international human rights obligations by allowing people to freely exercise their human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.

The video below is chilling. The viral video shows the moment hundreds of armed bandits, on motorcycles, arrived Kakumi, Bakori LGA , Katsina State, yesterday for peace talks with government. The kind of sophisticated weapons these guys are carrying is shocking. It is said that the bandits agreed to a peace deal to stop attacking five local governments in Katsina as long as certain conditions were met