Mobile telephone networks were shut down in the northwestern Nigerian state of Zamfara, residents said on Monday, after authorities ordered a telecoms blackout to help armed forces tackle armed gangs of kidnappers terrorising the area.

Two residents of Zamfara, reached by phone after they travelled to neighbouring Sokoto State, said their mobile networks had stopped functioning over the weekend. Calls to police and officials inside the state were not going through.

The blackout was “to enable relevant security agencies (to) carry out required activities towards addressing the security challenge in the state”, according to a letter from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to network provider Globacom.

Zamfara has been one of the worst-hit states in a wave of mass abductions of pupils from schools across northwestern Nigeria by armed gangs of ransom seekers operating from remote camps.

A source at the Nigerian air force, asked to comment on media reports that military operations against the gangs were under way, said: “We are clearing these elements fiercely and decisively. It’s a total operation.”

The NCC letter instructed Globacom to suspend phone and internet services to Zamfara from Sept. 3 for an initial two weeks. Reuters could not immediately reach Globacom for comment.

Britain’s Foreign Office updated its Nigeria travel advice, warning about the blackout in Zamfara and saying areas of neighbouring states may also be affected.

In the latest incident in Zamfara, more than 70 pupils were kidnapped from a secondary school in the village of Kaya last week.

One of the Zamfara residents contacted by Reuters, Abubakar Abdullahi Alhasan, said he had heard that a military crackdown had been going on since the mobile networks had stopped working.

“The Nigerian air force and army were succeeding in dislodging some of the bandits’ camps. They killed many and recovered arms and ammunition while many others were arrested,” he said.

Military spokespeople in the capital Abuja were not responding to requests for comment.

Reuters

Aminu Masari, governor of Katsina, says many “bandits” are Fulani indigenes whose main occupation is rearing cattle.

In recent times, many states in the northern part of the country have witnessed a series of attacks by suspected bandits, leading to abductions, murder and cattle rustling — a development that has stirred public outcry.

Speaking on the development in an interview on Channels Television on Monday, Masari said although his revelation may not sit well with some persons, majority of the “bandits” are of the Fulani ethnic extraction.

The governor added that the impact of climate change and lack of access to education negatively affected the fortunes of the “bandits”, whom he he said are mostly cattle rearers.

“They are the same people like me, who speak the same language like me, who profess the same religious beliefs like me. So, what we have here on ground with these bandits, they are not aliens; they are people who we know,” he said.

“They are people who are living with us for hundreds of years. The infiltration we have from some West African countries and North African countries are also people of the Fulani extraction.

“Majority of those involved in this banditry are Fulani, whether it is palatable or not, but that is the truth. I’m not saying 100 percent of them are Fulani, but the majority of them are. These are people who live in the forests where their main occupation is rearing of cattle.

“Probably, over time, their fortunes dwindled with climate change; lack of access to education also aggravated the situation.

“The fall of Gaddafi, instability in many West and North African countries, the influx of arms and ammunition, accompanied with illegal drugs and intoxicants that polluted the environment, that made them what they are and I think it is our responsibility to cure this.

“We in Katsina, together with other governors in the north-western region, are determined to cure this.”

The Cable

Motorists and passengers were Monday stranded at the Sango axis of the Lagos-Abeokuta and Ota-Idiroko highways as hundreds of residents protested deplorable condition of roads in the area.

Vehicular movements in and outward Sango-Ota, Ado-Odo Local Council Area of Ogun State, were hampered, as a group of protesters, under the umbrella of #FixedOtaroads, stormed the ancient town to protest the sorry state of the roads.

Though the protest started under the Sango Bridge, which serves as the meeting point, they later moved to other parts of the town with placards, with various inscriptions like Buhari: Our roads concern you, ‘Fashola stop looking away, among others to draw the attention of the government to the deplorable state of the roads.

Nigerian Newstrack learnt that some motorists also joined the protesters in solidarity.

The protest is coming few weeks after the state’s Governor, Dapo Abiodun, berated the federal government over alleged neglect of federal roads in the state.

Abiodun said 90 per cent of federal roads within Ado Odo/Ota Local Government Area of the state was in bad shape.

A protester, Adekunle Ogunbode, said the demonstration became necessary considering the daily experience of the residents on the roads.

“We are here to let the government know that the suffering of our people is limitless. We are doing practically everything for ourselves, in terms of infrastructure provision, do they expect us to fix this road for them too. We don’t have a government again,” he said.

A resident of the area, Ayo Abraham described the current state of Sango roads as a big shame to the current and the immediate past administration in the state.

Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has ordered the immediate shutdown of a popular hotel in the State.

The hotel known as Imperial Hotel located at Ilaje Street in Ijapo area of Akure, the state capital, was said to have been closed due to security threat.

The closure of the hotel was coming few days after a popular night club was shutdown in the state.

The move of the state government was made known by the governor’s

Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties, Doyin Odebowale.

According to Odebowale, the decision became imperative because the hotel had become a security risk.

He added that state government would not allow any hotel to use its facilitates as den of criminals under any guise.

Daily Post

Tragedy struck at the head office of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) when one of its chieftains, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Soba suddenly collapsed in his office and died.

The National Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Emmanuel Yawe said in a statement on Monday night that the chieftain who suddenly died weekend was a retired permanent secretary from the services of the Kaduna state government.

According to him, “Alhaji Soba was serving with ACF on contract basis. Born in 1949, the late Soba obtained his school-leaving certificate in 1964.”

“He proceeded to study and obtain additional qualifications both  at home and outside Nigeria in various fields especially administration and legislative studies.”

“He later became the Clerk òf the Kaduna state House of Assembly. His sudden death was grieved by all at the secretariat of ACF where he held sway as an administrative head until his sudden death,” he said.

Vanguard

Suspected outbreak of a viral disease identified as Gastroenteritis has been discovered in some parts of Ogun State.

The disease which is also known as stomach flu according to the state government broke out in Magboro, Ofada area of Obafemi-Owode Local Government the State.

The State Ministry of Health informed that the disease is spreading among okada riders and scavengers in the environment.

Nigerian Newstrack was told that viral gastroenteritis is an intestinal infection marked by watery diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, nausea or vomiting, and sometimes fever.

Healthy people who have the disease may recover without complications. However, medical practitioners say it could be “deadly” for infants, older adults and people with compromised immune systems.

The disease is usually caused by contact with an infected person or by ingesting contaminated food or water.

Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Tomi Coker, while confirming the outbreak of gastroenteritis in a statement, said the reported cases “were predominant among commercial motorcyclists and scavengers in the area.”

She explained that the index case was said to have recently returned from a trip outside Ogun State and that she has been linked to the source of the outbreak.

The health commissioner said a public toilet was the channel of transmission, adding that the toilet has been sealed up for sanitation.

According to her “the causative agent cannot be confirmed yet because appropriate sample could not be collected as there was no active case yet to commence antibiotics,” she said.

She also disclosed that a number of people “are currently receiving treatment to control the number of casualties.”

The commissioner blamed an unregistered clinic being run by a quack as having contributed to the outbreak, regretting that cases were being managed unreported.

Meanwhile, Coker informed that the state government has set up a treatment centre at the Magboro-Akeran Health Centre, where curative items have been made available by the Department of Public Health.

Adjourning communities had been sensitised on what to do and where to seek care or report any suspicious cases, she said.

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed National Agricultural Land Development Authority to set up integrated farm estates in all 108 senatorial districts nationwide.

Consequently, Executive Secretary of NALDA, Paul Ikonne, has called on state governors to key into the President’s desire to avail lands for the establishment of farm estates.

The scheme is aimed at engaging youths to achieve food security in the shortest possible time.

Ikonne revealed this to State House correspondents on Sunday after meeting with the President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He said that Kogi State government has donated 700 hectares of land to NALDA for the integrated land estate, while the 100 hectares of land donated by the Ogun State government has already been cleared.

He said that the President was committed to ensuring that the country achieve food security.

He said, “What you see is that agriculture is one of Mr. President’s heartbeat projects and he wants to see that we achieve food security in the country and NALDA is purely under the supervision of Mr. President and that is why you can see the progress that we’re making.

“I believe that the commissioning of the Daura Integrated Farm Estate in Katsina state which has the capacity to take in 1500 young farmers, is a stepping stone or an eye opener to Nigerians towards Mr. President’s passion in achieving food security.

“Now, we didn’t stop at the Daura project, as we speak, the Integrated Farm Estate in Borno is 75 percent completed and we are also doing, in 40 locations, fish villages to engage women to take in those people who are coming, the Internally Displaced Persons, in order to get them reintegrated and get them engaged, thereby providing job opportunity for them.

“As Mr. President is pursuing achieving food security, at the same time also creating job opportunities for Nigerians is on the front burner and that is what we are achieving, or we are doing using the NALDA platform.”

He added, “Again, in Kogi State we have gotten land donation from the governor of Kogi State for 700 hectares of land, which the first phase of that project will be commissioned this year.

“Clearing is about to commence and we believe that the first phase of that project, which will engage over 4,000 youths into the entire agricultural process, thereby creating employment and reducing herders-farmers clash.

“That farm in Kogi will go a long way in addressing the issues between herders/farmers because we are going to cluster the herdsmen, provide them with pastures and the facilities they need like water and, and other facilities that will help to support their business in cattle rearing.

“Again, in Ogun State, we have finished land clearing, 100 hectares has been completely cleared and the access road has been provided in that place and that farm will take in 2,500 youths.

“The President gave directives that we must make agriculture attractive to young Nigerians so that they will be engaged and I’m glad to inform us that that directive is not being taken with levity, that’s why we’re not sleeping because when the President speaks, it’s a command and you can’t wait when you have a command from Mr. President, knowing fully well that agriculture is his heartbeat and he wants to achieve food security.”

Punch

Northern Elders Forum (NEF) says shutting down communication and imposing curfews will compound living conditions in the northern region.

As part of efforts to curb insecurity, some state governments had shut down markets and schools.

On Saturday, the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) shut down telecommunication services in Zamfara over lingering insecurity in the state.

Reacting in a statement on Sunday, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, NEF spokesperson, said the measures could embolden the bandits.

“Northern Elders Forum is closely following the condition of many Northern communities that have become particularly vulnerable to attacks and abuse by bandits, kidnappers and related organized criminals,” the statement reads.

“Measures being taken by some State governments such as suspension of weekly markets, restrictions on sale of petrol, closure of schools and some roads, curfews, movement of cattle and plans to restrict communication will compound the desperate conditions of living of many communities in the North.

“While it will be unhelpful to criticize these measures without adequate knowledge of their potentials to relieve the desperation under which people live, it is important nevertheless to demand that those who have powers to impose them also have clear ideas over what they could achieve and when.

“These measures represent virtual economic and social lockdowns on people who had been at the mercy of criminals for a long time.

“Unless they are accompanied by an aggressive and effective assault on the banditry and kidnapping industry, they will merely add to the misery and hopelessness of our communities.

“Worse, they could further embolden the bandit and the kidnappers when it becomes clear that governments and security agencies cannot go beyond lockdowns on communities.

“Communities themselves will lose even more faith in the capacity of the Nigerian State to respond to their desperate circumstances.”

He called on the federal government to assist states to relieve communities that are now living under additional pressure.

The Cable

A 45 year-old woman, Bukola Oladapo, and two of her daughters have been abducted at Pegi community in Kuje area council of Abuja.

They were abducted two days after a father, Abdullahi Benda, and his 23 year-old son, Jibrin Abdullahi Benda, were kidnapped at Yangoji village, in Kwali Area council, of the FCT.

Daughters of the woman involved in the fresh kidnap incident were identified as Moyo Oladapo, 17 years old, and Glory Oladapo, 14 years old.

A resident simply identified as Abednego said the incident happened around 1:04 am on Sunday.

He said the kidnappers, wielding AK-47 rifles, attacked the victims’ house at a resettlement area in Zone A.

He said the kidnappers scaled the fence of the victims’ house and forced the doors open.

Chairman of Pegi Community Development Association, (PECDA), Taiwo Aderibigbe, confirmed the abduction of the woman and her daughters while speaking with our reporter over the phone.

The PECDA chairman decried incessant kidnaps in the area, urging security agencies to come to the rescue of the residents.

“It is quite worrisome, that Pegi, Kuje, is being targeted by kidnappers and security agencies are not doing much,” he alleged.

It was learnt that the woman’s husband, Gabriel Oladapo, a pastor, was out of Abuja when the kidnappers struck.

When contacted, spokesman of the FCT police command Daniel Ndiparya, confirmed the incident, saying efforts were ongoing to rescue the victims

“Efforts are being made by the command to ensure the victims are rescued,” he said.

Daily Trust

Mutinous soldiers in the West African nation of Guinea detained President Alpha Conde on Sunday after hours of heavy gunfire rang out near the presidential palace in the capital, then announced on state television that the government had been dissolved in an apparent coup d’etat.

The country’s borders were closed and its constitution was declared invalid in the announcement read aloud on state television by army Col. Mamadi Doumbouya, who told Guineans: “The duty of a soldier is to save the country.”

“We will no longer entrust politics to one man. We will entrust it to the people,” said Doumbouya, draped in a Guinean flag with about a half dozen other soldiers flanked at his side.

It was not immediately known, though, how much support Doumbouya had within the military or whether other soldiers loyal to the president of more than a decade might attempt to wrest back control.

The junta later announced plans to replace Guinea’s governors with regional commanders at an event Monday and warned: “Any refusal to appear will be considered rebellion” against the country’s new military leaders.

The West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS quickly condemned the developments, threatening sanctions if Conde was not immediately released. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tweeted that he strongly condemned “any takeover of the government by force of the gun.”

The U.S. State Department warned against violence and urged authorities in Guinea to avoid “extra-constitutional” actions that “will only erode Guinea’s prospects for peace, stability, and prosperity.” Spokesman Ned Price added in a statement that the junta’s “actions could limit the ability of the United States and Guinea’s other international partners to support the country.”

Conde’s whereabouts had been unknown for hours after the intense fighting Sunday in downtown Conakry until a video emerged showing the 83-year-old leader tired and disheveled in military custody.

The junta later released a statement saying Conde was in contact with his doctors. But they gave no timeline for releasing him other than to do say: “Everything will be fine. When the time comes, we will issue a statement.”

Conde, in power for more than a decade, had seen his popularity plummet since he sought a third term last year, saying that term limits did not apply to him. Sunday’s dramatic developments underscored how dissent had mounted within the military as well.

Doumbouya, who had been the commander of the army’s special forces unit, called on other soldiers “to put themselves on the side of the people” and stay in their barracks. The army colonel said he was acting in the best interests of the nation, citing a lack of economic progress by leaders since the country gained independence from France in 1958.

“If you see the state of our roads, if you see the state of our hospitals, you realize that after 72 years, it’s time to wake up,” he said. “We have to wake up.”

Observers, though say the tensions between Guinea’s president and the army colonel stemmed from a recent proposal to cut some military salaries.

On Sunday morning, heavy gunfire broke out near the presidential palace and went on for hours, sparking fears in a nation that already has seen multiple coups and presidential assassination attempts. The Defense Ministry initially claimed that the attack had been repelled by security forces, but uncertainty grew when there was no subsequent sign of Conde on state television or radio.

The developments that followed closely mirrored other military coup d’etats in West Africa: The army colonel and his colleagues seized control of the airwaves, professing their commitment to democratic values and announcing their name: The National Committee for Rally and Development.

It was a dramatic setback for Guinea, where many had hoped the country had turned the page on military power grabs.

Conde’s 2010 election victory — the country’s first democratic vote ever — was supposed to be a fresh start for a country that had been mired by decades of corrupt, authoritarian rule and political turmoil. In the years since, though, opponents said Conde too failed to improve the lives of Guineans, most of whom live in poverty despite the country’s vast mineral riches of bauxite and gold.

The year after his first election he narrowly survived an assassination attempt after gunmen surrounded his home overnight and pounded his bedroom with rockets. Rocket-propelled grenades landed inside the compound and one of his bodyguards was killed.

Violent street demonstrations broke out last year after Conde organized a referendum to modify the constitution. The unrest intensified after he won the October election, and the opposition said dozens were killed during the crisis.

In neighboring Senegal, which has a large diaspora of Guineans who opposed Conde, news of his political demise was met with relief.

“President Alpha Conde deserves to be deposed. He stubbornly tried to run for a third term when he had no right to do so,” said Malick Diallo, a young Guinean shopkeeper in the suburbs of Dakar.

“We know that a coup d’etat is not good,” said Mamadou Saliou Diallo, another Guinean living in Senegal. “A president must be elected by democratic vote. But we have no choice. We have a president who is too old, who no longer makes Guineans dream and who does not want to leave power.”

Guinea has had a long history of political instability. In 1984, Lansana Conte took control of the country after the first post-independence leader died. He remained in power for a quarter century until his death in 2008, accused of siphoning off state coffers to enrich his family and friends.

The country’s second coup soon followed, putting army Capt. Moussa “Dadis” Camara in charge. During his rule, security forces opened fire on demonstrators at a stadium in Conakry who were protesting his plans to run for president. Human rights groups have said more than 150 people were killed and at least 100 women were raped. Camara later went into exile after surviving an assassination attempt, and a transitional government organized the landmark 2010 election won by Conde.

AP