21102019 - BORDER CLOSURE:‘How neighbouring countries worked against Nigeria’

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2019
2 drown in
Bayelsa
community,
residents
protest
By Samuel Oyadongha
THE recovery of the corpses
of two persons, who
drowned in the Epie Creek at
Agudama in Yenagoa Local
Government Area of Bayelsa
State, yesterday, sparked off
heavy protest in the area.
The victims, said to be
siblings, were identified as Jeff,
22 and Adeni, 24.
They were said to have met
their tragic end Friday night
when the boat conveying them
across the Epie Creek
capsized.
It was learned that while five
other occupants of the ill-fated
boat were rescued, the
deceased were not lucky as
they were swept away by the
swift current.
The corpses of the victims
were recovered by the locals
yesterday, triggering protest in
the area over “neglect by the
government.”
The development caused
traffic gridlock along
Agudama-Edepie stretch of the
Melford Okilo Expressway.
However, the timely
intervention of the Police
prevented the situation from
degenerating into violence.
The incident, community
sources told Vanguard, was the
third in recent time.
A resident, Mr. Endwell
Azibayam, said: “Yearly, people
from this neighbourhood die
because of the flood. On Friday
night about 11p.m., seven
persons were crossing from
Mbiama-Yenagoa Road to our
area when the boat capsized.
“We managed to rescue five
persons, but two were swept
away by the current of the
flood. Since that day we have
been searching for their bodies
until this morning(yesterday)
when we found them. Because
the government failed to build
a bridge for us, we built a
wooden bridge we managed
until the flood came and swept
it away.
“So the only way we can
connect to the outside world is
to cross the Epie Creek with
the canoe. If not for that reason,
those boys wouldn’t have died
in the manner they did on
Friday.”
Uncle to the deceased, Mr.
Julius Diepreye, blamed what
he described as the
insensitivity of the government
for the death of his nephews,
saying the government have
continuously failed to live up
to its responsibilities.
Julius said: “The state
government have failed to
meet its primary responsibility.
I am not asking government to
give my family money, but
relief materials.”
LAGOS MARINE HOMES: Lagosians making homes under a bridge on the Lagos Island. PHOTO: Lamidi Bamidele.
7 terrorists killed, 8 crippled by own
IED in Borno
By Ndahi Marama
M AIDUGURI—THE
Nigerian Army, yesterday,
disclosed that seven terrorists
died when their vehicle ran over
an Improvised Explosive Device,
IED, they planted for troops in
Lamba’a Forest along Jakana-
Mainok Road in Borno State.
It was also gathered that two
soldiers and a local hunter were
killed when some members of
Boko Haram sect laid an ambush
on military operation vehicles
along Maiduguri-Beneshiekh-
Damaturu Road.
Col Aminu Iliyasu, the Nigerian
Army Operations Media
Coordinator, in a statement
yesterday, added that eight other
terrorists were crippled by the
IEDs.
He said: “The incident was a
clear case that can be best
described as a tactical boomerang,
as a Toyota Sam Sahara model
belonging to the terrorists
stepped on an IED they planted
against troops in the area.”
Iliyasu also disclosed that a
syndicate that specialises in
smuggling smoked fish from the
Lake Chad region for sale in some
parts of Nigeria was busted by the
troops.
He said the proceeds from the
sales are believed to be
channelled into the procurement
of foodstuff, groceries, drugs,
toiletries, vehicle spare parts and
other items for the sustenance of
the terrorists’ activities.
His words: “In a related
development, troops of Sector 3,
Operation Lafiya Dole, while
acting on intelligence, raided the
residence of some suspected
illegal fish smugglers near Water
Board Internally Displaced
Persons, IDPs, Camp in
Monguno Local Government
Area of Borno State.
“Four suspects were arrested
and 16 sacks of smoked fish
concealed in a room were
recovered.
“In a similar operation
conducted by troops of Sector 2,
Operation Lafiya Dole, on
October 10 intercepted nine
vehicles loaded with smoked fish
consignments at Bukarti in
Geidam Local Government Area
of Yobe en-route Hadejia in
Jigawa State.
Meanwhile, it was gathered
By Esther Onyegbula
A
16-year-old student of
Government Secondary
School (Alapere) Ijanikin, has
been stabbed to death along
Palace Road, Vespa Bus Stop,
Ijanikin, Ojo area of Lagos.
The victim, Wasiu Abdullahi, a
Senior Secondary School, SSS, 2
student’s throat was slit with a
knife by a former student from
Government Secondary School
Oto-Awori, identified as Adewale
Jamiu.
It was gathered that on
Thursday, Fowosere, a friend to
the slain Abdullahi, beat up
Adewale because of his phone,
which the latter took.
However, trouble started on
Friday after the close of school,
that at least two soldiers and a
local hunter, named Mallam
Monye, were killed when some
members of Boko Haram sect laid
ambush on military operation
vehicles along Maiduguri-
Beneshiekh-Damaturu Road.
Sources said the latest ambush
took place Saturday evening, but
the remains of the victims were
conveyed to Maiduguri yesterday
morning.
It was also gathered that the
attackers suffered the same
casualties, as many of the
terrorists were eliminated during
when Adewale attacked
Fowosere on his way home at
Vespa Bus Stop, Ijanikin.
Abdullahi was stabbed on his
throat, while attempting to stop
the two from fighting.
According to an eyewitness,
Vivian Tamari, “I was on my way
to the market to buy food items
when the incident happened.
Sincerely I don’t know why they
were fighting.
“What drew my attention was
the loud cry of one the students,
who was shouting ‘help me, help
me’ in Yoruba language. He was
holding his neck with both hands
while blood was gushing out.
“As he was shouting, some of
the market women immediately
ran to his aid. They pulled his
uniform and tied it on his neck to
the encounter.
A hunter told Vanguard that they
lost one of their members during
the ambush
“Yesterday, Boko Haram
ambushed our gallant Nigerian
Army and Borno local hunters
(vigilantes) along Maiduguri-
Beneshiekh Federal Highway.
“We lost one of our active
members named (Monye ) due
to lack of protection.”
At press time, efforts to confirm
from the Director Army Public
Relations, Colonel Sagir Musa,
proved abortive.
Dropout stabs secondary school
student to death over phone in Lagos
AFTER hours of searching for
a lion, which escaped from
its cage at a zoo in Kano, the
animal has been captured.
Head of the zoological garden,
Sai’du Gwarzo, told BBC Hausa,
yesterday morning, that the lion
was found inside the zoo’s
premises, in a cage belonging to
goats.
The lion had killed and eaten
all the goats in the cage, he said.
His words: “The rangers had
succeeded in locking up the cage
before the lion was shot with an
injection which made him less
harmful before it was captured
and returned to its cage.”
There was panic on Saturday
night around Zoo Road in Kano
metropolis, when the lion escaped
from its cage.
reduce the bleeding as they
rushed him to a nearby private
hospital, Ademola Hospital,
located beside Cele Bus Stop.”
However, Abdullahi bled to
death before he could get medical
attention at the hospital. Police
officers from Ijanikin evacuated
the corpse to Badagry Mortuary.
It was learned that the teenage
suspect, Adewale Jamiu, who
dropped out of school has been
on the run since the incident.
Confirming the tragedy,
spokesman of Lagos State Police
Command, DSP Bala Elkana,
said investigation was ongoing
and that the case had been
transferred to State Investigation
and Intelligence Department,
SCIID, Panti, Yaba, for further
investigation.
Missing Kano zoo lion found in goats’ cage
It was gathered that the
incident happened around 9p.m.,
when the rangers were trying to
put it back to its cage after they
returned it from a national
agricultural show in Nasarawa
State.
Many residents and motorists
abandoned the busy Zoo Road
late Saturday and yesterday
morning for fear the missing lion.