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Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd, Mele Kyari, has lamented the negative impact of the activities of oil vandals and operators of illegal refineries.
Speaking when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), on Thursday, he said this has led to the loss of $1.5 billion worth of crude from January till date.
He said the country’s oil sector was recording an all-time low crude oil production of 1.49 million barrels per day due to increase in the activities of vandals and operators of illegal refineries.
“What is going on has nothing to do with the PIA. It is purely an act of thieves; acts of vandals which have rendered the industry unworkable and taken us to the level where today, our production is around 1.49 million barrels per day.”
“When you lose about 200,000 barrels per day, even at an average price of 65 dollars per barrel, we lost close to 1 billion dollars between January and March. From January till date, we lost an average of 250,000 barrels per day and at the current price of about 100 dollars to the barrel, even within this short period, we have lost close to 1.5 billion dollars.
“This situation deteriorated to the extent that by March 7, 2022, it came to zero and so, we shut down the line and declared force Majeure. Even on our most reliable pipeline which is the Forcados pipeline, we still lose about 7,000 barrel per day. Needless to say that this is all coming as a result of the acts of vandals and oil thieves,” he said.
Kyari, however, assured the lawmakers that massive joint security operations among agencies were currently ongoing to address the situation.
“Many of these illegal refineries are being taken down and also the insertions are being constantly removed and we believe that these interventions will pay off. And we will be able to restore production. And this is centrally coordinated. There is a coordinated action now because we are using a number of strategies including community based security outfits”, he said.
Kyari said in view of the negative impacts of the activities of the oil vandals on the country’s economy and environment, there was the need to set up a special court to prosecute such cases to ensure speedy dispensation.
Earlier, Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Sarki Ada (APC-Sokoto) said the interface with the NNPC GMD was to ascertain the factors responsible for the decline in country’s oil production with a view to proffering solutions.
He assured that the House would give the necessary support to ensure the menace is addressed in the interest of the country.
Taiwo Taiwo of a Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday dismissed a suit seeking the removal of Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State.
Peoples Democratic Party had taken Ayade to court seeking an order directing him and his Deputy, Ivara Esu, to vacate office following their defection to the All Progressives Congress.
Ayade who was elected on the platform of PDP in 2015 defected to the APC on May 20, 2021, along with his deputy.
PDP in the suit asked the court for “a declaration that in view of the provisions of section 221 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the democratic system of governance operated in Nigeria, votes at the election and elections are won by political parties and not their candidate or the candidates sponsored at the election by the political parties.”
A federal judge ruled on Thursday that all trials of terrorism cases in Nigeria will henceforth be held in camera.
In a statement titled "new practice directions on hearing of terrorism cases", John Terhemba Tsoho also said coverage of any part of such proceedings would be prohibited.
He said the new ruling was designed to ensure the security and safety of all parties and members of the public and ensuring fair trials.
Separately, the leader of a banned separatist movement charged with terrorism offences filed a suit alleging that he cannot be tried because he was illegally extradited from Kenya, court papers showed.
Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group, disappeared from Nigeria after skipping bail in 2017.
He was arrested after years on the run. His lawyer said last year he was mistreated in detention in Kenya before being returned to Nigeria. The Kenyan high commissioner has denied his country's involvement.
Kanu's lead lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, on Thursday said that he cannot be tried on charges of terrorism and knowingly broadcasting falsehoods because he was not surrendered to Nigeria based on those charges.
Ozekhome is asking the court to declare his detention illegal. The suit is also claiming 50 billion naira ($120 million) in damages and 100 million naira in legal costs.
Another court is expected to rule on Friday on the merit of the 15-count charge filed against Kanu, which could terminate the trial if the judge agrees with his defence.
Kanu, who is a British citizen, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
IPOB, which Kanu founded in 2014, is pressing for the secession of the Igbo ethnic group's homeland, which covers part of southeast Nigeria. Authorities view IPOB as a terrorist group. IPOB says it wants to achieve independence through non-violent means.
An attempt by the Igbo homeland to secede as the Republic of Biafra in 1967 - the year that Kanu was born - triggered a three-year civil war that killed more than 1 million people.
A federal high court in Abuja has ordered the federal government to implement its 35 percent affirmative action policy on public service positions.
Donatus Okorowo, the presiding judge, said this while delivering judgment on Wednesday in a suit filed by some women groups challenging the “marginalisation” of women by the federal government.
The plaintiffs in the suit include the Incorporated Trustees of Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Women Empowerment and Legal Aid and Centre for Democracy and Development (West Africa.)
Others are Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, Vision Spring Initiative and Women in Politics Forum.
The president and Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, were listed as defendants in the suit marked FHC/ABC/CS/1006/2020.
The groups had sought the order of the court to ensure the 35 percent affirmative action policy of the federal government as contained in the National Gender Policy, 2006.
The policy, which was approved by the federal executive council (FEC) in 2006, provides that 35 percent of public offices be reserved for women.
In his verdict, the judge dismissed the preliminary objections of the defendants.
The judge agreed with the plaintiffs that the “lopsided appointments” by the Buhari-led government were unlawful and an arbitrary violation of the National Gender Policy 2006, sections 42, 147 (3) and 14 (3) of the 1999 constitution as amended, and Articles 2, 13 (2) and (3) and Article 19 of the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights.
He held that the national gender policy is not merely a policy statement, but one that must be backed with requisite action on the part of government.
The court also ordered that henceforth, government must not make appointments that violate the 35 percent affirmative action.
He said the 35 percent affirmative action, which entails increased appointive positions for women to ensure inclusivity, must translate to the increased commitment of government, being a signatory to international treaties particularly those on promoting the rights of women.
Meanwhile, the development comes weeks after federal lawmakers rejected a bill seeking to reserve 35 percent of seats on the national assembly for women.
The rejection sparked protests across the country, with women groups occupying the national assembly for days.
Amid efforts to persuade the women to shelve the demonstration, the house of representatives rescinded its decision on the bill and promised to carry out fresh voting on it.
Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has proposed a 3.33% reduction of the statutory allocation to the Federal Government.
It however proposed increase of allocations to States and council areas by 3.07% and 0.44% respectively.
The new adjustments to the revenue allocation formula due to the Federating units are contained in a report presented to President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday by the RMAFC at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
In the new RMAFC proposal, the Federal Government, which currently receives 52.68% will now get 45.17%; States will take 29.79% as against the current 26.72% and the council areas will get 21.04% as against their existing 20.60%.
Receiving the report from the Chairman of the RMAFC, Elias Mbam, Buhari said he would await outcome of the ongoing constitutional review process before presenting the report of the review of the vertical revenue allocation formula to the National Assembly as a Bill for enactment.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari said: “Ordinarily, I would have gone ahead to table this report before the National Assembly as a Bill for enactment.
“However, since the review of the vertical revenue allocation formula is a function of the roles and responsibilities of the different tiers of government, I will await the final outcome of the constitutional review process, especially as some of the proposed amendments would have a bearing on the recommendations contained herein.”
Buhari listed some of the proposed amendments in the report as follows:
“Establishing local government as a tier of government and the associated abrogation of the state/local government account; moving airports; fingerprints, identification and criminal records from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent legislative list, empowering the RMAFC to enforce compliance with remittance of accruals into and disbursement of revenue from the Federation Account as well as streamlining the procedure for reviewing the revenue allocation formula,” he said.
The President assured members of the Commission that the Federal Government would immediately subject the report to its internal review and approval processes, while awaiting finalization of the efforts by the National Assembly.
According to the President, this strategy, rather than issuing an Executive Modification order, as was done in 1992, is more in line with entrenching our democratic tenets.
He commended the RMAFC for a job painstakingly done, pledging his unwavering commitment and support to them in carrying out their constitutional mandates.
The President also thanked Nigerians, especially the State and Local Governments, for making their inputs through the broad stake-holder engagement processes that produced the report.
Mbam said the leading philosophy behind the proposed review was guided “by the need for distributive justice, equity and fairness as enshrined in relevant Sections of the 1999 Constitution.
He added that the principles took into cognizance the indivisibility of the country, public opinion and weighted Constitutional responsibilities and functions of the three levels of Government.
He announced that the proposed vertical revenue allocation formula advised 45.17 per cent for the Federal Government, 29.79 per cent for State Governments and 21.04 per cent for the Local Governments.
Under Special Funds, he said, the Report by the Commission recommended 1.0 per cent for Ecology, 0.5 per cent for Stabilisation, 1.3 per cent for Development of Natural Resources and 1.2 per cent for the FCT.
In arriving at the new vertical revenue allocation formula, Mbam told the President the commission had wide consultation with major stakeholders, public hearing in all the geo-political zones, administered questionnaires and studied some other Federations with similar fiscal arrangements like Nigeria to draw useful lessons from their experiences.
According to the RMAFC chairman, the Commission also visited all the 36 States and the FCT, the 774 Local Government Areas to sensitize and obtain inputs from stakeholders.
He added that literature reviews were conducted on revenue allocation formula in Nigeria dating back to pre-independence period while the Commission received memoranda from the public sectors, individuals and private institutions across the country.
Explaining the major reasons for the exercise, Mbam noted that since the last review was conducted in 1992, 29 years ago, the political structure of the country has changed with the creation of six additional States in 1996, which brought the number of States to 36.
He said the number of local governments councils also increased from 589 to 774.
'Abeokuta North State Constituency will experience positive impacts and be made a pride of place'.
Those were the words of a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Sanni Sulaimon while declaring his intention to contest for the position of House of Assembly, to represent Abeokuta North State Constituency in the forthcoming 2023 elections.
Sulaimon who declared on Thursday at ward 7, Ago-Ika APC ward, promised to bring back the lost glory of Abeokuta North State Constituency as part of the dreams he has been nursing since childhood.
He promised to do well and improve on what others have done by enacting laws that would be beneficial to all.
Sulaimon who advised that vying for political office should not be a do-or-die affair, enjoined other aspirants to exhibit the spirit of sportsmanship.
He thanked the leaders and members of the Party for their support and assured them of delivering dividends of democracy, if elected as a member of the 10th Assembly.
The Chairman of ward 7, Mr. Semiu Ajayi urged Sulaimon to ensure he remembers the youths and the aged in the constituency in line with his programmes.
He said as the son of the soil, he must know the needs of his constituent and not forget that infrastructure development is important.
The leaders and members of ward 7 while welcoming him acknowledged that he has been using his personal wealth to take care of the needy and the vulnerable in the community.
They said many had benefited from him through the community borehole he facilitated and other programmes which had been very helpful.
The councilor representing ward 7 Mutiu Sanni who coordinated the gathering acknowledged the presence of the Former leader of the house Wale Bayewunmi who was joined by other APC leaders and party loyalists amidst funfair to endorse Sanni Sulaimon.
Lauretta Fagbohun, Ogun
A governorship aspirant in Ogun state under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Otunba Jimi Lawal has said that the current administration of Prince Dapo Abiodun has failed to live up to its electoral promises made to the people of the State.
Lawal vowed that if elected as the governor in 2023, he would ameliorate the sufferings the people are currently going through in the state.
The governorship aspirant made this known during his declaration on Thursday at the Ake Palace Ground, Abeokuta.
The banker turned politician noted that he joined the governorship race to bring his vast experience in both private and public service into governance in the state.
The immediate past Senior Adviser on Economic development to Gov Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State who had once contested for the same position in 2019 under the platform of APC, expressed worries over the issue of insecurity in the state, particularly, the recent cult clashes which left no fewer than 16 people dead.
According to him, he said the current administration in the state has failed to live up to its electoral promises, while promising that his coming on board is to ameliorate the sufferings the people in the state are currently going through.
Earlier in his remarks, the State Chairman of the PDP in Ogun, Sikirulahi Ogundele, noted that the party would provide a level playing ground for every contestant.
He lamented that the ruling party, APC, has messed up Nigeria and put Nigerians in agonizing situation, urging Ogun residents to vote out APC come 2023.
Otunba Jimi Lawal who hailed from Ijebu Ode is the fourth governorship aspirant to declare interest on the platform of the opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
Others who have declared governorship ambition on the platform of PDP include Hon Oladipupo Adebutu, former federal lawmaker representing Remo Federal constituency, Mr Segun Showunmi, ex-Spokesman to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as well as Prof David Bamgbose.
Lawal recently dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Ogun State government says banks and other financial institutions are critical stakeholders in achieving its 2022 revenue targets.
The State Commissioner for Finance and Chief Economic Adviser to the Governor, Mr. Dapo Okubadejo stated this at a meeting with divisional heads and operations managers of banks and other financial institutions in Abeokuta.
He said it was imperative for them to key into the various innovative ideas and financial management reforms of the state government aimed at broadening the revenue base and ease of doing business.
He noted that adoption of digital transformation initiatives such as full implementation of the treasury management system, digital payment system, billing and payment management system as well as creation of the Ogun State Land Administration and Revenue Management System(OLARMS) among others, had helped in blocking leakages and increased in its Internally Generated Revenue.
Okubadejo enthused that with the buy-in of the innovations by the banks, the state would not only meet but surpass its current revenue targets.
“Last year, we were able to achieve about N100bn in IGR from N50bn in 2020 as a result of COVID-19. When you understand precisely what has been done to achieve that, you will know that it cannot be the efforts of people in government alone. It was through the cooperation and support of people like you.
“And because IGR has a direct bearing on mode of payments from our tax payers, all we are trying to do, as part of our efforts in creating enabling environment for business is to make it easy for tax payers to be able to pay their taxes in the comfort of their homes and at their own time”, the Commissioner said.
Responding on behalf of the bankers, Mr. Adeniran Oladele of the First Bank, commended the government for the various reforms and promised to collaborate with the state to achieve its set targets.
A Kano Chief Magistrates’ Court, has ordered the remand of 107-year-old Furera Abubakar, and Isah Hassan, 17, in a correctional centre for allegedly plucking out the eye of a 12-year-old, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN.
The Prosecution counsel, Mr Lamido Soron-Dinki, told the court on Wednesday, that the defendants committed the offence on March 19, at Rimin Hamza Quarters, Tarauni Local Government Area of Kano State.
Abubakar and Isah, both residents of Dantsinke Quarters, Kano, are standing trial on a two-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy and attempt to commit culpable homicide.
Soron-Dinki alleged that on the same date at about 9:00 p.m, the defendants conspired, deceived and lured Mustapha Yunus to a nearby stream and plucked out his right eye with a sharp knife.
“As a result, the victim sustained grievous hurt and was rushed to Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, where he was admitted for treatment.”
The plea of the defendants were, however, not taken. According to the prosecutor, the offences contravened the provision of sections 97 and 229 of the Penal Code.
The Chief Magistrate, Mr Muhammad Jibril, subsequently ordered the remand of the defendants in a correctional centre. Jibril adjourned the matter until April 11, for further mention.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Kano State Police Command had on March 29, arrested the defendants.
Former Nigerian President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on Wednesday, escaped death when his convoy got involved in an accident earlier today in the vicinity of the Abuja airport, while on his way out of the airport according to a vanguard report.
The crash resulted in the loss of two police officers attached to him.
Jonathan has since expressed deep sadness over the unfortunate tragic death of two police officers attached to him, in a road crash today in the vicinity of the Abuja airport.
The former President who described the incident as painful and heart-rending stated that the sudden death of the two security details has thrown him into deep mourning.
Dr Jonathan noted with sadness that the deceased, Inspectors Ibrahim Abazi and Yakubu Toma, were fine officers who were dedicated to their duties and service to the nation.
Two other officers sustained injuries in the accident which involved a car conveying the security men.
They were rushed to a hospital in Abuja where they are responding to treatment.
The office of the former President has offered condolences to the families of the bereaved and the Police High Command.
Dr Jonathan prayed to God to grant the souls of the departed eternal rest and bless their families and the nation with the fortitude to bear the loss.
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Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and planning, says the N1.3 trillion intervention fund the federal government provided for the power sector has not yielded any significant result says a cable report.
On March 1, 2017, the federal government approved N701 billion as a power assurance guarantee fund for the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET) to pay for the electricity produced by the generation companies (GenCos) to the national grid for two years.
The fund was provided to tackle the monthly liquidity challenges faced by GenCos, as the distribution companies (DisCos) kept defaulting in paying for the monthly invoice of electricity received.
In a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari dated November 19, 2021, Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, detailed how funds can be raised through the sale of make-up gas to address the financial challenges in the sector.
“The industry requires N85 billion per month to pay for gas, generation, transmission and distribution operations,” the minister wrote.
“Recent intervention (between 2017-2019) towards addressing the power sector problem includes the N701 billion and N600 billion payment assurance facilities (PAFs) secured from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to take care of some of the FG contingent liabilities within the sector and which have not yielded significant result.
“Shortfalls caused by the large difference between allowed tariffs and what is required for cost recovery cost the FGN a total sum of N1.249 billion between 2017 to 2019. These resources are more needed for human capital development and infrastructural investment. The above includes some projects like the World Bank loan (up to $3 billion) for tariff shortfall and the euro 2.6 billion for the presidential power initiative considered to support Nigerian Electricity Supply Industries (NESI).”
The minister also stated how Nigeria paid $137 million in two years for gas and electricity that were never used in the “take or pay deal” the country entered into with some investors in the power sector.
Foreign investors ignored 24 states as the value of capital importation into Nigeria fell by 30.78 percent to $6.7 billion in 2021 from $9.68 billion in 2020.
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this in its latest Nigerian Capital Importation report for the four quarters of 2021.
The report looked into the value of fresh investments that flowed into the Nigerian economy in 2021.
According to the report, the 24 states include Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.
Of the 24 states, ten also failed to attract foreign investments in the last three years.
These states are Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.
LAGOS REMAINS INVESTORS’ FAVOURITE
Lagos outshined other states and the federal capital territory (FCT) to top the list of states that attracted the most investments in 2021
The country’s commercial city attracted $5.8 billion in investment, representing 87 percent of the total capital inflow into the country for the period under review.
The figure is a 30 percent decrease from the $8.31 billion in investments in 2020.
Abuja (FCT) emerged second top investment destination with $833.4 million — a 34 percent decrease from the $1.27 billion in 2020.
Other states that attracted foreign investments in 2021 are Osun ($29.9 million), Anambra ($4.7 million), Kano ($2.55 million), Oyo ($2.0 million) and Ogun ($1.06 million).
Akwa Ibom follows with $0.74 million, Ekiti ($0.50 million), Kwara ($0.23) million and Abia ($0.01 million), while Rivers and Delta had a $1.0 million investment each in 2021.
Out of 51 countries that invested in Nigeria, the United Kingdom emerged as the top source of capital investment in 2021 with $2.19 billion.
South Africa followed by $1.05 billion in 2021; Mauritius ($690.91 million); and the United States ($677.54 million).
According to the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 index, which was the latest report, Nigeria ranked 131 out of 190 economies across the globe for running a business — up from 146th place the previous year.
Many believe that the government is still paying lip service to the ease-of-doing-business as foreign direct investments have continued to fall partly due to some obstacles placed on foreign companies wishing to invest in Nigeria.
Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, explained that the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has implemented over 150 ease of doing business reforms.
PEBEC was set up in July 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari to remove bureaucratic constraints on doing business in Nigeria.
According to Mohammed, as a result of the reforms, the 2018 Subnational Doing Business report on Nigeria recorded unprecedented improvement and the World Economic Forum (WEF), in its 2018 Global Competitive Report, recognised Nigeria’s business environment as one of the most entrepreneurial in the world and highlighted Nigeria’s improved competitiveness in the enabling business environment.
He noted that the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (CAMA 2020) signed by the president, introduced at least 15 new provisions that promote ease of doing business and reduce regulatory hurdles in Nigeria.
The minister also listed other reforms, including visas on arrival for business people, a reduction in the time it takes to register a company at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the introduction of the electronic filing and payment of federal taxes.
Despite these reforms, the country still faces ravaging issues like kidnapping, killings and attacks on government facilities and security infrastructure.
Over 72.77 million active telecommunication subscribers have been barred from making calls on their SIMs, following a directive from the Federal Government to telecommunication companies.
On Monday, the Federal Government ordered telecommunications companies to enforce compliance with its National Identification Number-Subscriber Identity Module policy by restricting outgoing calls on all unlinked lines as the deadline for the verification expired on March 31.
This directive was contained in a joint statement signed by Director of Public Affairs of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Ikechukwu Adinde, and Head, Corporate Communications at the Nigeria Identity Management Commission, Kayode Adegoke.
According to the statement, 125 million SIMs have submitted their NINs for linkage, while over 78 million unique NINs have been issued. It said the deadline for the NIN-SIM linkage had been extended on multiple occasions to allow Nigerians to comply with the policy.
It stated, “Accordingly, Mr. President graciously approved the many requests to extend deadlines for the NIN-SIM linkage. At this point, however, the government has determined that the NIN-SIM policy implementation can proceed, as machinery has already been put in place to ensure compliance by citizens and legal residents.
“The implementation impacts on government’s strategic planning, particularly in the areas of security and socio-economic projections.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the implementation of the policy with effect from April 4, 2022. Consequently, the Federal Government has directed all telcos to strictly enforce the policy on all SIMs issued (existing and new) in Nigeria.
“Outgoing calls will subsequently be barred for telephone lines that have not complied with the NIN-SIM linkage policy from April 4, 2022.”
The Federal Government added that subscribers yet to link their SIMs to their NINs should do so before their lines are completely restricted.
According to the NCC, there were 197.77 million active telecom subscribers as of February 2022. 125 million subscribers have submitted their NINs for verification, leaving 72.77 million subscribers on the receiving end of the Federal Government’s new directive.
A source in one of the telecom companies said the affected subscribers would still be able to receive calls, send and receive text messages, and use the Internet, in the meantime. The source added that telcos had begun to comply with the directive.
The source said, “Part of the Act that set up the NCC, by extension operators, mandates us to disconnect SIMs whenever the government tells us to do so. We are under an obligation to oblige the government when they ask us to disconnect SIMs. It is part of the Act setting us up.
“Yes, we have started complying. When the news broke today, they were yet to officially notify us, but now, the NCC has officially written us, and we have received their directive on it. We have started the implementation.
“There are two buckets to this directive, there are people who have linked their NINs to their SIMs. Do not forget that part of the reason why they kept on extending their deadline was because of the NIMC’s failure.
“NIMC has not been able to do the required integration from the backend. The telcos have done their part, but the challenge is that the NIMC does not have the means to have that firm handshake from the backend. And once the handshake is not done, it is as good as not doing any linkage. People fall into the second bucket.
“The question now is when you direct us to disconnect, who are you referring to? This is so because if we add the second pool, we will virtually disconnect everyone. For now, we are dealing with people who have not linked their SIMs to their NINs at all.”
Bandits have raided some houses at Anguwar Maji in Jere town along the Abuja-Kaduna Highway and abducted 22 villagers.
This happened barely 24 hours after the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, visited the highway.
Jere, which shares a boundary with Tafa-Sabon -Wuse in Niger State, is located on the ever-busy Abuja-Kaduna Highway.
A resident of Anguwar Maji, Shehu Bala, who confirmed the latest abduction through a telephone conversation with our reporter, said the incident happened around 11pm on Sunday.
He said the bandits, who came in large numbers, invaded some houses and whisked away 22 residents, including five women.
“The bandits came in their large numbers as some of them wore army uniforms.
“They moved from house to house and woke their victims up before they marched them into the bush at gunpoint,” he said.
According to him, the bandits operated silently in the community for over an hour.
He added that they only started shooting sporadically to scare people from coming after them after leaving the community.
Bala, however, said one among the 22 kidnapped victims escaped from his abductors while being led into the bush.
The spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, ASP Mohammed Jalinge, could not be reached at the time of filing this report.