News
The Shocking Wave Of Attacks: Takum, Ussa, And Yangtu Communities Struggle For Peace
By Tambaya Julius
In a tragic series of events, more than a hundred lives have been mercilessly taken in the span of a year across the Takum, Ussa, and Yangtu communities of Taraba State.
The assailants, allegedly identified as herders, have left behind a trail of destruction, decimating not only lives but also the hopes of these peaceful villages.
Emmanuel Ukwen, the President General of Kuteb World Wide, voiced his distress over the relentless attacks on the Kuteb Communities of Takum, Ussa, and Yangtu.
The communities’ tranquility has been shattered by these ruthless assaults, resulting in the heart-wrenching loss of innocent lives and the devastation of property worth millions of naira.
The magnitude of this crisis has intensified in recent months, with a staggering death toll of over a hundred individuals within a twelve-month period.
The most recent incident, which occurred on a fateful Tuesday, claimed the lives of three individuals from these communities, slaughtered mercilessly by the herders.
The harrowing tale of bloodshed began when a suspected herder ventured onto the farmland of a local resident.
An altercation ensued when the resident confronted the herder, leading to a fatal clash.
Tragically, the resident lost his life while being transported to the hospital.
This gruesome incident triggered a chain reaction of violence, as the herders began launching attacks on one village after another.
As the horrifying saga continues, an alarming 59 villages have fallen victim to these brutal attacks.
The very fabric of these communities is being torn apart, and the despair is palpable.
Villages like Tati, Fawen, Simta, Bassan, Muji 1, Muji 2, Tukog, Kumbo, Ucha, Nyido, and more have been plunged into darkness by the heavy hand of aggression.
Lives have been lost, homes reduced to ashes, and families shattered in the wake of these attacks.
Mbiya 1, Mbiya 2, Tamiya, Rikumcwo, and others have also suffered the same fate, leaving a trail of pain and loss.
Survivors recount the horrors that unfold under the cover of night. Gunmen, armed with deadly weapons, descend upon the villages in alarming numbers, leaving the residents defenseless.
Despite the presence of an army barracks in Takum, the scale of the attacks has overwhelmed security forces.
Even the once-sturdy IDP camps have been disrupted, leaving a void of safety in their wake.
In the midst of this chaos, the Police Public Relations Officer, Usman Abdullahi, assures that the police remain committed to addressing the security challenge.
Swift action is being taken, with officers mobilized to the affected areas. Abdullahi clarifies that the situation is under control, dispelling any notion of the police being overwhelmed.
In the Kunkwa village of Yangtu Special Development Area, tragedy struck once more.
Three lives were extinguished as Rimamskep Atenji, Andekwab Ashasim, and ElKannah Akyara were mercilessly killed by bandits while on their way to the farm.
This grim event serves as a chilling reminder of the relentless nature of these attacks.
Amidst the despair and sorrow, the people of Takum, Ussa, and Yangtu raise their voices in unity.
Stakeholders, who prefer to remain anonymous, implore the Federal Government to step up its efforts.
The deployment of additional troops is urgently needed to quell the violence and restore a sense of lasting peace to these embattled communities.
As the sun sets on another day, the struggle for survival and peace continues in Takum, Ussa, and Yangtu.
The lives lost and the devastation wrought stand as a solemn testament to the resilience of these communities in the face of unimaginable adversity.
A fire on Wednesday evening caused extensive damage at the popular phone village in Challenge market, Ilorin, Kwara state.
The fire, which started around 9:06pm, was believed to have been triggered by a power surge.
The market, which houses over 120 shops, 80 kiosks, and numerous stands, saw 10 kiosks reportedly affected.
In a statement on Thursday, Hassan Adekunle, spokesperson for the Kwara state fire service, said the conflagration primarily affected phone stores and repair shops.
“Our fire crew promptly mobilised and arrived at the scene to find several shops engulfed in flames,” he said.
“The market comprises over 120 shops, 80 kiosks, and numerous stands. Through swift intervention, professionalism, and tactical expertise, our team successfully curtailed the spread of the fire, limiting its impact to only 10 kiosks.
“The affected areas were primarily phone stores and repair shops. Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire was caused by a power surge.
“Traders and market stakeholders commended the Kwara State Fire Service for their rapid response and effectiveness in saving the market from widespread destruction.”
Falade Olumuyiwa, director of the state fire service, expressed sympathy to the market leadership and affected traders.
Olumuyiwa also prayed that all losses suffered would be divinely restored.
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adeniyi, on Wednesday, announced the interception of contraband items worth over N921 billion as the service intensifies enforcement operations at the nation’s ports.
The items included expired food items, unregistered pharmaceutical products and controlled security equipment.
Adeniyi during a press briefing at the Apapa Command of the service said that the seizures were made between January and April.
According to him, the seizures also involved 11 separate interdictions.
He said the prohibited items included five 40-foot containers, two 20-foot containers and four seizures of loosely concealed contraband.
The CG also gave updates on the rollout of the Customs Unified Management Information System, known as B’Odogwu, describing the pilot phase at PTML and Tin Can Island Port as crucial.
He explained that his earlier visits to PTML and Tin Can that morning, before arriving at Apapa, were to gain firsthand insights of challenges faced by stakeholders with the new digital platform.
He admitted that while the B’Odogwu rollout was ambitious and necessary, the service was fully aware that initial implementation would have some hiccups.
“We are not pretending that when we roll out a very serious project of that magnitude that there will be no hitches,” he said.
He added that Customs was approaching the situation with flexibility and innovation, holding stakeholder and bank engagements to address the hiccups in the system’s deployment.
Adeniyi also explained measures towards strengthening enforcement at the Apapa Command, in line with the national strategic economic development plan and executive orders on port operations.
He said the Command had scaled up surveillance across seaports, airports, and land borders in response to evolving tactics by transnational criminal networks attempting to breach the country’s import protocols.
He raised alarm over the rising influx of unregistered pharmaceutical products, particularly sexual enhancement drugs into the Nigerian market, warning that such items posed threat to public health and safety.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that unregistered medicines lacking mandatory certification from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) were seized.
Other items seized included expired margarine products, and restricted security gadgets including drones and telecommunication devices without end-user certificates from the Office of the National Security Adviser.
The seizures included 89 cartons of unregistered pharmaceutical products in container CAAU6514500, 242 cartons in container TCNU6880130, and 1,001 cartons of hydra-sildenafil citrate tablets in container MRSU3041714.
Another 40-footer container was found to contain 1,400 packages of various unregistered drugs, while a fifth had 805 packages falsely declared as cosmetic powder.
The service also intercepted two 20ft containers, GCNU1367992 and GCNU1372704, containing expired margarine products.
Additionally, 60 units of warrior drones without valid end-user certificates were recovered from container MSKU9329923, valued at N15.9 million.
Another 53 helicopter drones, evacuated from a container marked CFAX3, carried an estimated duty-paid value of N2.1 million.
Ten professional FM transceiver walkie-talkies were also confiscated from ENL, while a 20ft container (SUDU1408819) was found to contain 500 packages of active medicine tablets lacking NAFDAC certification.
Adeniyi disclosed that the analysis of these seizures revealed five key smuggling trends.
According to him, first was the disturbing proliferation of sexual enhancement drugs, as five of the 11 containers seized were laden with variants of sildenafil citrate and other related substances.
The CG warned that the indiscriminate use of these drugs without medical supervision could lead to serious health complications, including cardiovascular risks.
He said a second trend was a growing pattern of misdeclaration, with importers labeling pharmaceuticals as general merchandise or cosmetics in an attempt to evade detection.
According to him, two containers had pharmaceutical products concealed beneath skin creams.
He noted a third trend is the diversification of contraband shipments, with importers mixing pharmaceuticals, expired food, and restricted technology items in a single container.
This, he said, suggested the involvement of sophisticated criminal networks rather than isolated smugglers.
He said the fourth trend was the strategic selection of countries with weaker pharmaceutical export controls, indicating a deliberate attempt to exploit regulatory loopholes.
He identified the last trend of increasing importation of non-pharmaceutical security threats, including drones and communication gadgets, which raised significant concerns for national security.
The CG emphasized that the seizures were not isolated efforts but part of a broader enforcement drive that had seen the service record 22 narcotics-related interceptions in the first quarter of 2025 alone.
He added that the seizures accounted for a duty-paid value of N730 billion, representing 34.6 percent increase when compared to the same period in 2024.
He credited the results to the service’s intelligence-led enforcement strategy and collaboration with regulatory agencies like NAFDAC, Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency and Office of the National Security Adviser.
Adeniyi warned that the service would not relent in its commitment to securing Nigeria’s borders and protecting the lives of its citizens.
He commended officers and men of the Apapa Command for their vigilance and professionalism, urging stakeholders within the international trade ecosystem to comply strictly with import regulations.
Concluding the briefing, the CG declared a restricted area around the five containers carrying dangerous pharmaceutical materials, urging all present to maintain a safe distance to avoid any risk of exposure.
He urged the public to remain alert and make use of confidential channels to report suspicious imports, emphasising that collective vigilance would curb the growing threat of organised transnational smuggling. (NAN)
Organised Labour has appealed to the Federal Government not to compress the civic space by restricting citizens from freely expressing themselves.
President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Joe Ajaero, made the appeal on Wednesday in Abuja, at the 2025 Pre – May Day Lecture, organised by the NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the lecture has the theme, “Reclaiming the Civic Space in the Midst of Economic Hardship” .
Ajaero stressed the need for government to open up the civil space to enable workers and unions to freely express themselves in line with democracy tenets.
He assured that the labour movement would continue to talk truth to power and fight for the rights of Nigerians.
Prof. Christopher Chukwuma from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, while delivering the keynote address called for the review of laws restricting, criminalising civic engagements in the country.
Chukwuma, a Professor of International law said it was imperative to review the Cybercrime Act and the Public Order Act, which, according to him, are restricting and criminalising civic engagement .
He said that the civic space was essential for the functioning of democratic processes.(NAN)