Headlines
Buhari Condemns Killing of 30 Katsina Farmers, Cautions Against Retaliation
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the latest round of attacks on farmers by bandits in Damkal and Tsanwa villages in Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State.
At least 30 people were killed in the attacks on the two communities, the police said on Saturday.
The president was quoted in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Sunday.
Shehu said the president was reacting to the incident in which many homesteads were razed by fire with many people killed in the affected areas at the weekend by the bandits.
Buhari, who warned that “no one in the country has a right to take laws into his hands by the way of self-help or revenge”, added that ”killing people in the name of revenge is not acceptable.
”Local communities that catch bandits should hand over the suspects to law enforcement authorities instead of meting out capital punishment, leading to a cycle of revenge and counter revenge,” he said.
He urged community leaders and the local authorities to continue their efforts in partnership with law enforcement agencies that bring the surrender of bandits, leading to peace between farmers and herders.
“The authorities must be allowed to investigate and deal with any breach that occurs. There is no place for violence in a decent society,” he said.
Buhari prayed God to comfort families that had lost loved ones in the attacks and repose the souls of the victims.
The Attack
Bandits kill 30 in 2 Katsina villages – Police
The Police Public Relations Officer, Gambo Isah, who confirmed the incident on Saturday, said that the victims were killed in Tsauwa and Dankar villages in the area.
He said the bandits invaded the two villages riding on motorcycles on Friday night and begun to shoot residents of the two villages.
According to him, the bandits killed 21 persons in Tsauwa village and the remaining nine persons were killed in Dankar village.
He, however, said that the police and the military were able to arrest one bandit and recovered nine motorcycles belonging to the hoodlums.
Mr Isah said that additional policemen and the military were deployed to the areas with a view to protect the communities around.
He said the State Commissioner of Police, Sanusi Buba, had paid a visit to the affected areas for an assessment of the situation, with a view to preventing further occurrence and trail the bandits to their hideouts in the bush.
The News Agency of Nigeria gathered that the majority of those killed were the aged and children who could not run for their life.
The bandits burnt down many houses including animals and foodstuffs in Tsauwa village.
Katsina is one of the North-west states that have suffered attacks by bandits in recent years.
Hundreds of people have been killed and many others kidnapped in such attacks in Katsina, Sokoto, Kaduna and Jigawa states.
Premium Times
The Super Eagles of Nigeria defeated Egypt 4-2 on penalties to win the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 third-place playoff on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali proved the hero of the night with two crucial saves during the shootout, including one from Egyptian star Mohamed Salah.
Ademola Lookman then calmly converted the decisive penalty to secure the bronze medal —Nigeria’s ninth third-place finish in AFCON history.
With neither side able to break the deadlock in a cagey second half, the game ended 0-0, sending the contest directly to penalties.
Despite Fisayo Dele-Bashiru missing Nigeria’s first kick, Nwabali’s immediate saved from Egypt’s first two attempts shifted the momentum.
The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of the son of a former Jigawa State governor, challenging the decision of the trial court, which convicted him for failing to declare $40,000 at Kano airport.
In a unanimous decision, the apex court panel dismissed the appeal of Aminu Sule Lamido, the son of former governor Sule Lamido, for lack of merit.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Aminu on December 11, 2012, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while preparing to travel to Cairo, Egypt.
The prosecution said Aminu declared $10,000 to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), but was found with an additional $40,000, which was not disclosed on his currency declaration form.
The EFCC charged him before the Federal High Court in Kano on a one-count offence of false declaration of foreign currency, contrary to provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.
On July 12, 2015, the court convicted Aminu and ordered him to forfeit 25 per cent of the undeclared sum to the Federal government.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Aminu approached the Court of Appeal in Kaduna to overturn the conviction and set aside the forfeiture order.
In a judgment delivered on December 7, 2015, however, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has ordered that the trial of former governor Lamido, his two sons, and others, over alleged N1.35billion fraud, should continue before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
A five-member panel of the apex court issued the directive in two unanimous judgments, in the two appeals filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the trial court, which dismissed the no-case submission filed by the Lamidos and held that the defendants had a case to answer.
Both appeals were against the July 25, 2023, judgments of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which upheld the no-case submission made by Lamido and others and struck out the 37-count charge on which they were being prosecuted, on the grounds that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case.
In the lead judgments of the Supreme Court, Justice Abubakar Umar set aside the July 25, 2023 judgments of the Court of Appeal and affirmed the earlier decision by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which overruled the no-case submissions by Lamido and others and ordered them to enter their defence.
The EFCC, in the 37-count charge, among others, accused Lamido of abusing his position as a governor between 2007 and 2015, allegedly laundering sums of money received as kickbacks from companies that were awarded contracts by the Jigawa State Government under his leadership.
The other defendants charged alongside Lamido are his two sons – Aminu and Mustapha; Aminu Wada Abubakar and their companies – Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd.
