By Ezinwanne Onwuka
● Prison Officials complicit in terror attacks on prisons: Nigeria Defense chief
Nigeria’s defense chief, General Christopher Gwabin Musa has accused prison guards of working for Islamic insurgents for hitch-free attacks on prisons. The corrupt warders are usually heavily compensated by the terrorists, Musa said.
Nigerian security forces are still searching for hundreds of prisoners who escaped an Abuja jail on July 5, 2023, including more than 60 convicted of terrorism. Gunmen armed with explosives blasted into the Kuje medium-security prison after overpowering security guards in a well-coordinated assault. The Abuja prison attack was the 20th jailbreak in Nigeria in seven years.
The defense boss told the House of Representatives on Tuesday that some arrested Boko Haram jihadists narrated how some prison warders aid their operations. “They use some of the warders there. We are not saying all of them are corrupt. They use their accounts, and the deal is that anyone whose account is used, they share it 50/50,” he said.
● Gunmen attack police headquarters in Adamawa
Shock spread throughout Yola, the capital city of Adamawa state, in the early hours of Wednesday [today] as a gang of gunmen armed to the teeth stormed the police headquarters in the city. Residents were jolted by the sounds of gunshots that pierced the air for nearly an hour.
Sahara Reporters, an online newspaper, said the alleged gunmen were actually men of the Nigerian Army. The soldiers, according to the newspaper, were out to avenge the death of one of their officers killed by the police. A police officer was gunned down in the brutal attack.
Calm has returned to the city even as the police have commenced an investigation to establish the cause of the attack and those behind it.
Read more: https://dailytrust.com/breaking-adamawa-police-headquarters-under-attack/
● Burna Boy is Billboard’s Afrobeats artist of the year
Burna Boy is the highest-ranked Afrobeats artist of 2023, according to Billboard. Burna Boy, who finished second in 2022, secured this year’s top spot with 26 leading entries throughout the 2023 chart year: November 19, 2022–October 21, 2023.
Rema, one of Nigeria’s most decorated artists of the year, snagged the silver medal from his seniors in the music industry including Davido and Wizkid who were ranked eighth and fifth respectively.
Rema also topped the Billboard Top Afrobeats Songs chart with his global hit song “Calm Down”, featuring Selena Gomez. The song reigned for a record-breaking 58 weeks on the weekly U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart.
Read more: https://www.billboard.com/pro/burna-boy-top-afrobeats-artists-chart-2023/
● Bandits abduct eight farm workers in Abuja
Fear has gripped Gwombe village in Gwargwada of Kuje area council in Nigeria’s capital Abuja after terrorist outlaws abducted agricultural laborers working in benni seed fields.
All victims were women. An investigation by TruthNigeria reported that many women abducted in last two years by bandit gangs are forced into sex slavery in the forest enclaves of their abductors.
The farmers were abducted on Monday evening, according to Daily Trust. Yet authorities are mum on the incident. A traditional ruler in the village told Daily Trust that the bandits were members of a gang that escaped from neighbouring Kabbi village after local citizen guards raided their hideout last weekend.
Read more: https://dailytrust.com/8-women-kidnapped-in-fct/
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Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.