At least 27 residents died in an attack by gunmen on Bachi District of Riyom Local Government in Plateau, Josephine Piyo, Chairman of the local government has said.

At least 27 residents died in an attack by gunmen on Bachi District of Riyom Local Government in Plateau, Josephine Piyo, Chairman of the local government has said. 

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The attack occurred Thursday last week and was carried out like Boko Haram attacks on villages in North West Nigeria, local government officials claim.
Mrs. Piyo told a joint team of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) on a visit to the area on Tuesday that the attackers torched 70 houses.
Represented by the Council Secretary, Alex Kundang, the chairman said the attack also led to the displacement of at least 3,520 residents.
She said those displaced were currently staying at different camps for Internally Displaced Persons in the area.
Mr. Piyo described the situation as pathetic and that urgent national attention was needed to address the situation as the attacks on Riyom people had become recurrent.
“The methods of the attacks are similar to that of Boko Haram in terms of approach and the weapon used,” she said.
The chairman appealed to the Federal Government to design a strategy to check the attacks in the manner it had tackled the Boko Haram insurgency.
Eugene Melong, a senior official who led the NEMA North Central team on the assessment visit, expressed sadness over the incident.
“We are here with my team to carry out on-the-spot assessment, generate report and then send it to our headquarters to enable the government to render some assistance,” Mrs. Melong said.
The Executive Secretary of SEMA, who was represented by its Director of Administration, Biser Longnan said that the Plateau Government planned to assist the displaced persons.
The leader of displaced persons in Camp 1, located at Farinlaba Local Education Authority Primary School, Riyom, Dalyop Kanbut, called for a lasting solution to the attacks.
He said the attacks had brought untold hardship to the people.
At Camp 2 located at Riyom Community Hall, Mr Sunday Baren said the people needed assistance, especially food and drugs. (NAN)

Police Seal Kaduna State House of Assembly To Prevent Impeachment Of Speaker

Armed security personnel have sealed the premises of the Kaduna State House of Assembly claiming security reasons; a staff of the assembly has confirmed. 

According to the source, the instruction to seal  the complex was to prevent the likely impeachment of the Speaker of the Assembly, Shehu Tahir, who is loyal to both Vice President Namadi Sambo and Governor Mukhtar Yero.
Also, security hasbeen beefed at Government House in Kaduna to check other threats.

APC commends Pastor Adeboye for dissociating self, church from offensive audio CD

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has commended the General Overseer

(GO) of the Redeem Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch

Adeboye, for dissociating himself and the church from the offensive and

divisive audio CD that is being circulated by certain political Pastors.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Monday by its National Publicity

Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said by his action, the GO has

again exhibited his characteristic exceptional leadership and shown what

religion should be about, which is love, rather than hate and incendiary

statements.

It particularly expressed satisfaction that the GO specifically asked the RCCG

Pastors to ignore the contents of the audio CD, especially all the references

to political parties, including the APC.

”The GO’s statement, in his response to the APC which had written to

protest the divisive and corrosive statements contained in the audio CD,

which has been smuggled into some RCCG parishes, made it clear that the

RCCG is neutral and apolitical, and that it prays for all irrespective of

political persuasion or creed.

”We in the APC are delighted at the GO’s prompt action and statement that

the RCCG did not endorse divisive comments in any form or shape, that it

has sons and daughters in all political parties, and that the allegations

contained in the audio CD are wickedly false, unsubstantiated, ill-conceived

and mischievous.

”Equally satisfying is the GO’s directive asking everyone in possession of

the audio CDs to return them, and the directive to the Church’s Pastors to

communicate such to their respective congregations immediately,” APC

said. On the obviously-sponsored audio CD, produced by one Pastor Bosun

Emmanuel, the party wondered why a man of God will engage in outright

lies to propagate hatred, incite Christians against Muslims so brazenly, as if

the adherents of both religions are not children of the same God, and then

use the platform of the church to campaign for the PDP while seeking to

destroy the APC.

”In a country where the citizenry, whether Christians or Muslims, have been

shortchanged by greedy, selfish and clueless political leadership, a Pastor

went on record as saying President Goodluck Jonathan has performed

100%, while at the same time demonizing and denigrating the APC as an

‘Islamic Party’ without a scintilla of proof. Much as he struggled to couch

his inflammatory and discordant message in flowery lies, it is clear that he

was sponsored to inseminate lies to shore up the dwindling fortunes of the

ruling party

”Where in the world has an Islamic Party been led by a Christian? Where in

the world has the membership of an Islamic Party been populated by

Christians and Muslims? Why would a Pastor whose primary purpose is to

preach the Gospel (good news) now make himself available, for whatever

reason, as a tool to disseminate lies and bad news?

”Had this Pastor any sense of history, he would have realized how the

propagation of hatred, as he is currently doing, led to the killing of over

800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda in 1994. This Pastor made it

seem as if the terrorists called Boko Haram are fighting the cause of

Nigerian Muslims, when he knows deep down that this evil group has not

spared Muslims either.

”We have said it repeatedly: Boko Haram is a clear and present danger to

Christians as it is to Muslims. Boko Haram is as dangerous to the rich as it

is to the poor, it is as dangerous to the North as it is to the South. Simply

put, Boko Haram is an enemy of Nigeria and all Nigerians, irrespective of

their religion or ethnicity, must unite to defeat the terrorists,” it said.

APC appealed to Nigerians of all creed and ethnicity to repudiate politicians

or politicians in religious garb who may be seeking to divide them on

primordial basis, especially as the general elections are fast approaching.