Michael Abiodun
Life has no meaning any more for 94-year-old Adamu Rangu, whose family members were wiped out when suspected Fulani herdsmen invaded Nkyie Doghwro village in Irigwe Chiefdom of Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State on Monday October 16, 2017, leaving behind 29 persons dead.
Though the aged man survived the gruesome killing, seven members of his family perished in the attack at the two-classroom block of primary school in Nkyie Doghwro where women, children and the weak were taking refuge for fear of Fulani herdsmen invasion of the village.
He lost his aged wife Tabitha, two children; Bala and Ishaya as well as four grandchildren who were taking refuge at the primary school, where men of the Special Task Force in charge of internal security in Jos and environs were on guard.
How he escaped death
Adamu opted not to sleep in the classroom but remained in his house close to the school that fateful night when he watched helplessly as the gunmen rained hot bullets on his family and other victims. The cries for help and unending grief of his wife, children and grandchildren will ever remain green in his memory.
The aged man is left to fend for himself as all he laboured for in his 94 years was wiped out within a twinkling of an eye. Our reporter had an encounter with Adamu shortly after the mass burial of the victims, dragging his feet as women and children fled the village to Jos city for safety.
Adamu, who lacks the strength to move fast was conveyed with his loads to Miango by some good Samaritans when people were fleeing the village on hearing rumour of another imminent attack.
“I have never seen a thing like this. Why will this kind of thing happen to me at my old age? Where am I going now? I have lost all I laboured for, my children were my greatest assets and they were all killed in a day.
“I was told to go to the classroom but I couldn’t go in immediately, I don’t know what held me back at home, I prefer to have died than losing my wife, children and grandchildren in that manner, where will I start from, who do I go to now?”
Another pathetic case
The case of 45-year-old Lami Danladi, a mother of four, is equally very pathetic. Luckily, she survived four gunshots while struggling with her children for escape from the classroom of death.
She lost three of her children; Queen 10, Friday 7, and two-year-old Mary who was shot in the back that fateful night. In addition, Lami lost her husband, Danladi Ishaya who was also inside the classroom while only five-year-old Victoria who had gone to Miango town, escaped death beside her mother from the family.
Lami who is nursing gunshot injuries at Enos hospital, Miango, recalls that five days after killing of three persons in the neighbouring village of Nzhweruvo, the villagers converged at a primary school in the village for protection under the watch of the Special Task Force (STF) due to lack of proximity of households in the village.
Some households who had relations in Miango town had fled from the village when harbingers of horror came calling at about 8pm, shooting directly into the classroom where over 60 persons were sleeping.
“I was inside the class with my three children and husband. I did not know what happened, suddenly I heard gunshots directly inside the classroom, women and children were crying as they ran to escape.
“I took my two-year-old daughter, Mary and backed her while the gunmen were firing directly towards my location, I hid myself with the school desk and was able to come out through the door, I started running with the child on my back, unfortunately, one of the attackers heard my foot step and shot directly at me, the bullet penetrated through my shoulder and killed my child on my back.
“I didn’t know that my husband was already killed, my two children in the classroom became helpless, they died of gunshot injures. I don’t want to recall this horrible experience, I was shot four times and none of the bullets got me well, they pierced my skin and I was taken to the hospital.”
More survivors’tales
Similarly, a 10-year-old Primary Four pupil, Joshua Samuel escaped narrowly.
He lost his stepmother, Yari Aga and his 50-year-old uncle, Tegbi Shweh while his five-year-old cousin was amputated on the leg due to gunshots.
Joshua who was shot on his finger hid himself among the dead and held his breath, pretending to be dead. He came out when he realised that people from neighbouring communities had come to rescue the injured and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Thirty-two-year-old Monday Teh is mostly devastated by the killing of his two wives who had the same name, Kande, his son and his brother.
Monday, who sighted the gunmen when he was about to enter the classroom and immediately retreated to safety gave account of how the incident happened.
“It was about 8pm when members of the community had converged in the classroom where we have been sleeping for about six days after unabated attacks in neighbouring villages. We decided to live together in the primary school because the security guaranty for our safety.
“On that fateful night, I was outside and about to go into the classroom to rest before going out for patrol, suddenly I saw men in black cloths and military trousers, carrying gun. I laid down immediately and crawled down into the bush and they started shooting.
“I had nothing on me, there was nothing I could do…(cried)…I heard the cry of my wife and son and their voices faded out gradually and I knew that they were dead. When the shooting started, I didn’t see any of the soldiers, I only heard them encouraging our people to go into the classroom that they will protect us but unfortunately, they all ran and left us to our fate.
“We raised alarm that night, 30 minutes after the attack, nobody came to our rescue, we had to call people from Miango town for assistance and so many youths came that night. The following morning, we went into the room and picked the corpses, my son, two wives and brother were among.”
Mrs. Lisa Bonu, mother of nine, lost her husband also. She was shot on the head and her left hand was amputated due to gunshot. She was lucky to have sent her nine children to Miango town a day before the gory killing.
Town union kicks
National President of Irigwe Development Association, Mr. Sunday Abdu said the curfew imposed on Bassa Local Government Area by Governor Simon Lalong did not help the situation. He confirmed that 27 persons were given mass burial in the village, two injured persons later died at Enos hospital while several others were injured.
“We have continually woken up to the news of attacks each day, leaving tears, sorrow, despair and apprehension on our helpless people. For the avoidance of doubt, attack took place the day the curfew was imposed and after Ncha attack that left 24 persons dead, several killings and burning of houses have continued in Irigwe Chiefdom of Miango.
“Two persons were killed including a soldier on September 9, 2017. One person was killed and another injured in Nkie Dongwro on October 8, 2017 and a young man, Solomon Elisha was allegedly killed by a mobile policeman on October 10, 2017 in Kpachudu village.
“At Nzhweruvo and Tafigana village, three persons were killed and houses razed down on October 11, 2017 and six persons were killed, five injured and houses burnt at Taegbe village, a day the State Government imposed curfew and 29 killed at a school used as a camp and protected by security at Nkyie Doghwro village on October 16, 2017.”
We will investigate soldiers complicity- Military
Military Special Task Force (STF) code named Operation Safe Haven deployed to restore law and order in Plateau, said it will investigate the involvement of soldiers on duty at the Nkiedonwhro village of Bassa Local Government Area.
Commander of the taskforce, Major General Anthony Atolagbe, said the soldiers have been sent to the headquarters of the task force for proper investigation on how the attack took place in the village under their watch, especially that curfew was imposed on the village and there was supposed to be restriction of movement.
Governor Simon Lalong was short of words when he visited the devastated community where women, children and the aged running into thousands have been displaced, carrying their loads on their heads and dragging their children to unknown destinations.
Lalong pleaded for calm and ordered security operatives to fish out the perpetrators of the gory killing for prosecution in accordance to the law.
credit link:http://sunnewsonline.com/plateau-of-blood-sad-tale-of-94-yr-old-whose-family-of-7-was-wiped-out-by-herdsmen/
A few weeks ago, Nigerians were in grief, following the story of a United Kingdom-based couple that broke online.
Omena and Makeda Ubairo, both aged 38, lost the battle to bowel cancer within an interval of a month, leaving behind five children between the ages of seven and 19.
Another lady, Amarachi, discovered that she was having pain on the right side of her breast, but assumed that the pain was a postnatal effect. But she kept feeling the pain, even after her child had stopped breastfeeding. Confused, Amarachi started attending church devotions and seeking herbs to treat the stubborn pain. She visited a hospital and was referred to a specialist for a series of tests, even as the breast had started emitting some smelling fluids. She also began to lose weight. Amarachi was eventually diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. She died early this month.
Experts have, for long emphasised cancer awareness. The disease is one of the top leading causes of death worldwide. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 60% of the world’s new cancer cases occur in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, just as 70% of the world’s cancer deaths occur in these regions.
The reporter recently met with a cancer specialist, Professor Remi Ajekigbe. A Professor of Radiotherapy and Oncology at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Ajekigbe informed that he went into the field of Oncology 35 years ago because of his passion for the fight against cancer. In his words, he has since been traversing the world, fighting the cause.
“The treatment of cancer depends on the patient,” he informed. “The earlier the patient reports for treatment after detection, the higher the chances of survival and vice versa.”
The professor stated that cancer was the only disease in the world that spreads from the primary sight to any other part of the body, damaging wherever it grips, be it the brain, kidney, lungs or even bones. He explained further that cancer did not kill from the primary sight, but rather starts the killing from the secondary sights it spreads to.
Ajekigbe said: “Before God, we are all equal and before cancer we are also all equal. Whatever a man thinks he is, is in his mind.”
He described cancer as an abnormal growth in the body. In his words, the cells that make up the tissue which makes the organs and then the body, at times grow abnormally out of proportion. He explained that even when the stimulus that caused the growth is removed, there are cases where the growth persists and then leads to cancer.
The professor advised that human beings should be able to take note of every change in their bodies, except three parts which he noted are more of dead tissues. These, he said, are the hair, nails and teeth. He informed that every other part of the human body should be given adequate care and concern as cancer appears in bizarre forms. He mentioned some symptoms of cancer as the thickening of a part of the body, a painless lump particularly in the breast, lip, or tongue, bleeding from a body orifice, which is a natural hole in the human body like the nose, ear, mouth, anus and genitals. This unusual bleeding, however, excludes a woman’s menstrual cycle, he explained. He also stated that adults aged forty and above should take note of a change in their bowel habits. He informed a change in bowel habits is usually an exhibition of colon cancer. He mentioned that the epitome of the change does not matter as a simple hoarseness or change in voice for more than two weeks can be laryngeal cancer.
The professor said he put a lot of pressure on women regarding breast cancer, as it has been the most rampant cancer so far. He said women should examine their breasts properly for lumps and also stated that there were cases where the lump would exist between eight months and ten years and the individual would not feel it. Some women, he stated, might assume that the growth is due to their menstrual cycle. But he said this could not be further from the truth. He urged women to report to the hospital as soon as a lump is detected. He emphasised the essence of pain in the body, saying that pain draws attention to the area in need of a medical response. He said the cancer was particularly difficult, as the lump is painless.
Ajekigbe told the reporter that doctors used a mammogram to check for early signs of breast cancer mostly in cases where the lump can’t be felt.
According to the professor, cancer has become more rampant these days compared to when he just went into the field in 1982. He said that the change in lifestyles over the years is a great cause. These, he noted, can be broken into three aspects – foods, fluids and friends – FFF.
He explained that the foods that people now take most times contain a lot of chemicals, as even at the initial stage of cropping, fertilizers are added to aid the crop in harvesting. He also mentioned the seasoning of food and the preservatives in canned foods, insisting that all of them have chemicals and can’t be compared to when fibre was a whole meal. He stated that after taking such foods, drinks, sodas and alcohol are also consumed, which are mostly chemical fluids. The last F, friends, he informed, could be defined as the bad decisions made as a result of peer pressure, such as smoking, drinking, and other decisions opposing a healthy lifestyle.
The cancer expert said he was in contact with a lot of cancer survivors that are today living healthy lives.
“Cancer proves difficult for us here because people don’t come early. Cancer that can spread to all parts of the body can cause a Stage 4 cancer, and when we have such patients, the survival is very slim, so the earlier the patient comes for treatment, the better. Stage 1 survival is higher than stage 2, and stage 2 than 3,” he said.
He explained that Stage 4 cancer is a late stage and this means the patient has wasted a lot of time and at this stage, the cancer would have spread to other parts of the body. Treatment is still rendered to such patients but most times the cancer wins. He stated that there were even cases of breast cancer where the breast would be discharging fluids and would still be a locally advanced disease, meaning that the cancer is yet to spread and can still be treated.
“There is awareness for cancer but it is never too much,” the professor said. He informed that he educated his patients, their family and other inquisitive persons about cancer, particularly if a family member has a history with cancer because cancers like breast and prostate can be hereditary. He stated that the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) did a great job with their cancer awareness programmes.
“But as individuals, we should educate ourselves and never view an unusual change of the body as pintsized,” he said.
here is a saying in Argentina that power is like drinking gin on an empty stomach. You feel dizzy. You get drunk. You lose your balance and you end up hurting yourself and those around you. A practical demonstration of this could be seen on the trails of devastation and ruins in Northeastern Nigeria after Mohammed Yusuf, the founder of Boko Haram, and his followers got drunk and dizzy from drinking gin on an empty stomach.
The same scenario is currently playing out in my backyard and I can’t help but write this love letter to my Supreme Leader and IPOB brothers that have been drinking gin on empty stomachs since Goodluck Jonathan lost the 2015 election.
As I watched my brothers on social media, I observed that majority of IPOB supporters are die-hard surrogates of GEJ. It is thus okay to mock and challenge the federal government for declaring IPOB a terrorist group because when the present government was in opposition they opposed your hero GEJ for doing it to Boko Haram. Your reasoning: if Boko Haram should be used to bring down the government of GEJ, you should be allowed to use IPOB to bring down Buhari’s government. Fair enough, so, I feel you my brothers.
But, the battle for 2019 cannot be won by the same strategy that led to the downfall of PDP in 2015. 2015 belongs to yesterday. So, for openly supporting your beloved IPOB, I suspect that most you are still drinking gin on an empty stomach long after your hero Goodluck Jonathan lost the 2015 election. My brothers, it is a brand new day and we should stop saluting ourselves with “welcome to yesterday.”
Because you have drunk on an empty stomach, you feel dizzy, you call your governors cowards and prefer to listen to PDP political lepers like Femi Fani-Kayode, Reno Omokri, and Fayose. When you get drunk, you hug the three political lepers that love us more than our governors. When they taunt you with “see what Nigerian military are doing to Igbos,” you surge forward shouting “nzogbu nzogbu, enyi mba enyi” like mugs to be killed by crude Nigerian soldiers.
We all condemn the murderous actions of the soldiers as uncivil and unconstitutional. We cry to Amnesty International to document the crimes of Nigerian soldiers, just like they did in Syria, Egypt, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Yemen. But whose sons and daughters are being killed?
As we kept drinking on an empty stomach, we forgot that it was neither Lai Mohammed’s South-West nor Buhari’s North-West, nor Saraki’s North-Central, nor GEJ’s South-South that faced the scars of war and subsequent famine and devastation in the North-East. Because our reasoning is unbalanced, we forget that both IPOB and Nigerian military will unleash devastation and atrocities on us and our people just like what happened in the North-East.
You expressed love for your articulate and intelligent Supreme Leader! His head got swollen. After drinking gin on an empty stomach, he became dizzy and declared that he will go to Abuja and return with the head of the man parading himself as the President of the “zoo”. Because his followers and sympathizers are drunk themselves, they believed him. After all, he is a Jewish messiah sent by god to save his people from slavery.
So, he assembled the unemployed youths in the villages around Umuahia and boasted that he will trample on an elephant when katakata starts at the market square. But when trouble started, it appears that my Supreme Leader chickened out and left the small boys to die while protecting him.
I am no longer troubled that some of us who should know better are still drinking gin on an empty stomach and getting dizzy. What is troubling to me is that instead of going to bed, they are still picking up their phones and sharing the pictures of our brothers that were killed by crude Nigerian soldiers. Because they are drunk and dizzy, they forgot that the dead deserve some respect. You forgot that these youths that were brainwashed have parents and wives.
For my brothers, the intellectuals, who are still defending my Supreme Leader and faulting the federal government and Southeast Governors for banning IPOB, I love you. It seems that you guys are scared that your beloved channel for settling your score with PMB is being shut down. E-yaah. Don’t worry; Facebook and WhatsApp are still there for propagating truth, lies and fake news.
I love you all and your lies. If you are not spreading lies on Pete Edochie endorsing the boycott of the Anambra State Election, you are spreading lies that Chimamanda Adichie has endorsed the Biafran cause. Just recently, one of the PDP political lepers FKK led you to spread the lie about Mama Taraba implicating APC and El-Rufai in the kidnap of the Chibok girls.
I have sometimes wondered why these IPOB-GEJ surrogates will not stop revisiting that tragedy that led to his ultimate downfall in the 2015 election. For some reason, it seems like my IPOB brothers badly need the confirmation that the APC and the north conspired to bring down their dear hero Jonathan.
As we continue to search for the way forward for Ndigbo in Nigeria, just remember that the realities we are facing in Nigeria today cannot be resolved simply by protesting in front of the United Nations building in New York. Sharing clips of one idiot from Turkey as a show of foreign support is a deceit. One million petitions on Change.org will not smoothen our relationship with even the Ikwere and Ijaw people of the Niger Delta. Making empty noise on social media or sharing the gory pictures of our dead brothers cannot help the repositioning of the Igbo nation in Nigeria that we urgently need.
I love you all, my IPOB brothers, because it feels right in continuously hurting ourselves. Keep punching yourself in the face until you see the bruise. Keep scratching your skin with your nails until you see blood. But please, don’t stop. Your addiction to imaginary misery and drama, though a toxic behavior and gloomy demeanor reinforce our story that “they hate us.”
I love my Igbo brothers who are shamefully supporting My Supreme Leader because their hero Goodluck Jonathan lost the 2015 election. Though you represent this Igbo generation stuck in a pothole of miserable thinking, I still love you. Keep drinking gin on an empty stomach as you spin, unable to move like tires clenched in a 2015 mud. Keep sucking up oxygen and expelling all the positive energies around us as we make ourselves look like suckers to the rest of the ethnic groups in Nigeria.
I already know that you hate Buhari. You are free to do that, but must you also destroy yourself just to prove to the world that Buhari hates us? The world is not paying attention and no “Super Power” is coming soon to “give” us an independent State of Biafra.
What we need is wisdom - political and economic wisdom. Most importantly, we should fear the destruction we are capable of inflicting on ourselves
I love you all!
You can email Churchill at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or follow him on Twitter @churchillnnobi.
Churchill OkonkwoChurchill Okonkwo
Actress, Lizzy Anjorin is back with her relationship advice. This time, she says 99% of women are born witches, stingy and heartless, and that men should stay away from other women when they have one.
She wrote;
99% of women are born WITCH, STINGY & HEARTLESS; moment u ve one woman, stay away from another women, stay away from friends /family, if possible take her to everywhere like your mobile phone.. if u can do all this u will be at peace for the rest of ur life but if u cant do all
A nail artist who has spent 23 years growing her nails which takes a week to paint, has been crowned with title of the world’s longest fingernails by Guinness World Records.
A nail artist from Houston, Texas, identified as Ayanna Williams, has been crowned with the title of the world’s longest fingernails by the 2018 Guinness World Records, and in total her nails measure more than 18 feet long, each of which is just under two foot long.
She has also revealed that the most challenging thing about having extremely long fingernails, which can take up to one week to paint, is pulling up her trousers.
While she’s constantly getting lots of attention for her nails, and knows she is rather unique, her friends and family think it’s quite normal.
In order to take care of her nails, Ayanna uses anti-bacterial soap and a nail brush to clean them daily. And to help them grow, she regularly applies hardener and a thin layer of acrylic.
‘To let my children know that anything they want to accomplish can be done. It takes courage, discipline and patience but it can be accomplished,’ said Ayanna on her reason for applying for the record.
‘I am elated and honoured. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d make it into the Guinness World Records books!
Nigerian stars are really painting the town red with some exotic cars which has become an avenue of showing off their immense wealth.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has reportedly uncovered an uncompleted eight-storey building allegedly belonging to Patience Jonathan, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja.
The magnificent edifice, located within the Central Business District, is between the National Mosque and the Federal Secretariat, Punch reports.
The ex-First Lady allegedly acquired the property through her foundation known as Aribawa Aurera Reach Out Foundation.
In a document, which has been attached to a court application, the anti-graft agency said it had written to the Corporate Affairs Commission to get the identities of the directors of the foundation who are believed to be fronts for Patience.
The anti-graft agency has also written eight banks: Skye Bank, Fidelity Bank, First Bank, Union Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa and Unity Bank.
The document read, “Plot 1350 Cadastral Zone A00 CBD which was allocated to Ariwabai Aurera Reach Out Foundation in 2010 and Certificate of Occupancy issued in 2011. The plot bears an eight-storey building still under construction.
“Inference may be drawn from investigation that the suspect’s (Patience) last known official position was permanent secretary in Bayelsa State. Hence, there is no way such magnificent architectural edifices could have been built within a short space of time.
“There is a high probability that it could have been built with the proceeds of crime. It is evidently clear that it is a case of money laundering but there is a need to do more investigation.”
“In view of the foregoing, I request for an interim forfeiture order on the two properties amongst others linked to the suspect and believed to have been acquired from the proceeds of crime.
“This is particularly very important because attempts to mark the properties were resisted and even the portion that was successfully marked was later cleaned off by the agents of the suspect.”
