Confirming the incident to journalists in Jalingo on Wednesday, James Lashen, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, of the command said that the unfortunate incident occurred at 9:00 p.m. on Monday in Mayo-Goyi, a suburb of Jalingo town.

Lashen said that the late John, who was alerted by some residents of the area over a misunderstanding between them and the soldier, was caught in the middle of the chaos, which led to the soldier stabbing him.

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The PPRO, who stated that the soldier was currently at large, said that the army had already commenced investigation into the matter, and had assured the Police of tracking down the suspect to face the full wrath of the law.

“We have reported the matter to 6 Brigade headquarters of the Nigerian Army, and we have been given full assurances of tracking down the fugitive soldier to face the full wrath of the law.

“Both the army and the police are working hand in hand. We have gotten to the house of the soldier, we would ensure he is arrested and is brought to book accordingly,” he said.

Lashen, therefore, maintained that the relationship between the two security agencies was very cordial.

Source: NAN

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Agya, while delivering the judgement in Jalingo, said the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The judge said that the duo committed the crime in 2019.

The prosecution counsel, Mr Samson Gimba, told the court that Musa was kidnapped on September 2, 2019, at Serti while Kambe was kidnapped at Angwan America in Baruwa on September 29, 2019.

He also found them guilty of criminal conspiracy and illegal possession of firearms and sentenced each to 10 years without an option of fine.

The judge said that the sentence on criminal conspiracy and illegal possession of firearms would take effect from 2019 when they were arrested and detained.

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Besides, the judge said the convicts made confessional statements about the crime and collected ransom.

He noted that one of the victims, Kambe, identified the defendants as member of the gang that abducted her in her house when they could not find her husband at Angwan America in Baruwa, on September 29, 2019.

Kambe said they unmasked themselves when they took her to the bush for two days before her husband sent them N1 million ransom.

“Based on Section 3, Paragraph 8 of the Kidnapping and Abduction Law of Taraba 2019, I hereby sentence you to death by hanging. May God have mercy on your souls.

“You, however, have the right to apply to the Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy for the sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment, especially since no life was lost in the process of kidnapping,” the judge said.

Gimba, in his reaction, hailed the judgement as “sound and commendable.”

Mr Mahanar Puki, counsel to the defendants, had pleaded for mercy when the guilty verdict was pronounced before the judge passed the sentence.

Puki had told the court that the convicts were first-time offenders and had shown remorse throughout the trial and should be shown mercy.

Source: NAN

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Mr Joseph Eribo, the Commissioner of Police in the state, who made this known on Wednesday in Jalingo, said that the suspect was arrested by mobile policemen at a check point at Yaggai on Jalingo-Yola bypass.

He said that the 35-year-old suspect, who hails from Mubi, was arrested on Tuesday in a Toyota car with registration number YLA 321 ZY.

According to him, during interrogation, the suspect failed to give satisfactory account of himself and a search of his vehicle revealed the sum of N8,555,000 in cash, seven mobile phones, N3,000 MTN recharge card and seven amulets.

“Immediately police started searching the vehicle, two of the suspects jumped out of the car and ran into the bush.

“The suspect tried to bribe the PMF team, requested them to take the whole money and allow him go but the team refused and arrested him accordingly.

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“During further investigation, we discovered another N4 million in the suspect’s bank account,” he said.

The commissioner of police also announced the arrest of five other suspected kidnappers by the command’s anti-kidnapping unit and local vigilante members.

He gave the names of the suspects as Habibu Ibrahim, alias Rilwanu; Abba Mohammed (a.k.a. Gandari); Aliyassa’u Umar; Abdulaziz Adamu (a.k.a. Dan-Mallam), and Danlami Ibrahim, alias Teacher, all of Jauro Ganah New CBN area of Jalingo.

He said that three AK47 rifles each with five rounds of live ammunition were recovered from them.

Source: NAN

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This is part of the N800 billion it expected from the federal government as total budget, including cost of more than five years preparation.

Its executive chairman, Alhaji Nasir Kwarra, made the declaration at a breakfast meeting with media executives in Abuja on Thursday.

Kwarra said the cost of conducting digital census was high considering the procurement of equipment and data required for the exercise.

He said the commission recruited about one million personnel in a bid to conduct a credible and acceptable digital census.

He reiterated its commitment to a credible and acceptable census and urged the media to sustain the tempo of publicity.

“It is important to sustain the tempo of the preparation for the census. The focus of the commission is to lay a foundation for future censuses,’’ he said.

Dr Inuwa Jalingo, Census Manager, stated that the commission worked round-the-clock to conduct a digital census.

Jalingo said the NPC had already set up a robust quality dashboard and data for a credible census.

In his remarks, Dr Isiaka Yahaya, Director, Public Affairs Department at the NPC, also called on the media to continue to emphasise to the public the imperatives of conducting censuses.

Yahaya noted that advocacy and publicity were critical to making the census successful.

Source: NAN

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The 2023 Census Manager and Director, National Population Commission, NPC, Dr Inuwa Jalingo, said this at a news conference in Abuja on Sunday

Jalingo who asserted the preparedness of the commission for the 2023 census, said that the NPC had prepared ground for the first ever digital census in Nigeria.

He said that the commission had achieved topmost success in all ramifications in terms of the preparation.

“We achieved international standard for digital census.

“About 450,000 digital gadgets were procurred and distributed to all the local governments,” he said.

Jalingo said, however, that government was a continuous process, hoping that the incoming administration would build on the successes recorded for the eventual conduct of the census.

The Census Manager lauded the Buhari-led administration for its support, saying that the commission had successfully trained about 60,000 facilitators across the country.

“Any one saying we are not prepared must be saying that out of ignorance,” he said.

Jalingo reiterated the benefits of census which were not unconnected with national economic planning and provision of data for administrative planning.

He said that the commission was able to mobilise Nigerians for the Census with every information required for a successful census.

The NPC had postponed the Population and Housing Census earlier scheduled from May 3 to May 7 indefinitely.

Source: NAN

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DSP David Misal, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, in the state, confirmed the incident to newsmen in Jalingo, Taraba State.

“It’s true, the chairman was abducted by gunmen at his residence in the early hours of Sunday in Jalingo and later killed him in the bush with his brother’s son whose name we are yet to get.

“We have so far arrested one person in connection with the incident and we are hoping that he will give us leading information to enable us to arrest the rest of the killers.

“We are doing serious investigations and we shall communicate to you as soon as we unravel all the circumstances surrounding the incident,” he said.

Misal also confirmed that the two bodies were recovered from the bush between Nahuta and Garin Abata villages of Ardo Kola local government area.

Source: NAN

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Sowore and Bakare are in detention in connection with the Revolution Now protest which was against the Federal Government.

Despite the order of the court for the release of the men, the Department of State Services has refused to let them off the hook.

Jalingo, a journalist, is facing trial over his criticism of Rivers State government.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by its programme manager, Seun Bakare, Amnesty International said it was obvious that the government was attacking journalists and activists in order to silence opposing views.

The statement reads:  “We consider Sowore, Jalingo and Bakare to be prisoners of conscience detained solely for exercising their human rights.

“The Nigerian authorities must drop all charges against them and release them immediately and unconditionally.

“Sowore, Jalingo and Bakare’s continued detention is a matter of shame for Nigeria. Their cases show just how far the authorities in Nigeria can go to silence their critics.

“The government of President Muhammadu Buhari needs to stop filing bogus and politically motivated charges against critics, and start listening to what they have to say.

“The flawed charges and sham trials of Sowore, Jalingo and Bakare expose the inadequacies and bizarre manipulation of the Nigerian criminal justice system and an unacceptable contempt for the rule of law and human rights.”

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The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Council, Mr. Daniel Adidas, confirmed the development in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Jalingo.

Adi alleged that gunmen in Army camouflage attacked Rafinkada and set several houses ablaze.

The chairman disclosed that a soldier injured in the attack was receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in Wukari.

He said that the deployment of soldiers to the area had brought the situation under control.

DSP David Missal, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the state police command, confirmed the incident, but said only one person was killed.

“The report I have indicated that armed militia youth crossed from Benue State and attacked a community in Wukari local government area and one person was killed and some houses burnt,” the PPRO said.

It would be recalled that the crisis between the Jukun and Tiv ethnic groups especially on the border villages between Benue and Taraba States has lingered since March 2019.

The rift had claimed hundreds of lives and led to the destruction of several property worth billions of naira.

Source:  NAN

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