Gunmen kidnap dozens in Nigeria, at least 11 killed

Gunmen in Nigeria kidnapped at least 80 people and killed 11 others in separate attacks in the northwest, traditional leaders and residents said on Monday, in the latest attacks by armed gangs that have been preying on villages, schools and highways.

Zamfara state is one of the worst hit by the armed gangs, known locally as bandits, who terrorise and abduct for ransom, adding to growing insecurity ahead of a presidential vote in February.

In the remote village of Masu, in Bukkuyum local government area, bandits kidnapped 50 people, mostly women, families of the victims told Reuters.

Ismail Jinjiri, whose wife was among those taken, said armed men arrived in his village early on Monday, rounded up dozens of women and some men and disappeared into the forest.

Sarkin Fawa Masu, a traditional leader, said "we had over 50 married women being abducted along with quite unknown number of innocent farmers."

Jinjiri and Masu said some women were later released while two men were badly beaten and admitted at Bukkuyum General Hospital. At least 27 remained in captivity, they said.

Bashiru Muawiya Mesudan, the administrator for Bukuyum local government area, said local authorities were still assessing the situation. Zamfara state police spokesman Mohammed Shehu did not respond to calls and texts seeking comment.

In a separate attack, armed men attacked Zonai community in Gusau local government area and abducted at least 20 people working on their farms, the village head Lawali Abdullahi Zonai told Reuters.

Some of the abductees managed to escape, he said.

In Yar Tasha community of Bungudu and Zurmi local government areas, gunmen killed 11 people and abducted at least seven farmers on Sunday, including a district head, residents said.

Reuters

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Hushpuppi sentenced to 11 years in US

A notorious Instagram influencer from Nigeria has been jailed for more than 11 years in the US for his role in an international fraud syndicate.

Hushpuppi, whose real name is Ramon Abbas, was also ordered to pay $1,732,841 (£1,516,182) in restitution to two victims.

The influencer rose to fame flaunting his wealthy lifestyle on his page, which boasted 2.8 million followers.

But it all came crashing down when he was arrested in Dubai two years ago.

According to Don Alway, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, Abbas had - behind the glitz of his account - become "one of the most prolific money launderers in the world".

"Abbas leveraged his social media platforms... to gain notoriety and to brag about the immense wealth he acquired by conducting business email compromise scams, online bank heists and other cyber-enabled fraud that financially ruined scores of victims and provided assistance to the North Korean regime," Mr Alway said in a court document on Monday.

Abbas pleaded guilty to money laundering last year, admitting attempting to steal more than $1.1m from someone who wanted to fund a new children's school in Qatar. Court documents in California say he played a key role in the scheme, playing "the roles of bank officials and creating a bogus website".

He also admitted to "several other cyber and business email compromise schemes that cumulatively caused more than $24 million in losses", the US justice department said.

Among them was a 2019 scheme, which plunged the European island of Malta into chaos as payment systems shut down after he tried to launder €13m ($13m) stolen by a gang of North Korean hackers from the Maltese Bank of Valletta.

At one point on Instagram, Abbas said he was a real estate developer and had a category of videos called "Flexing" - social media lingo for showing off.

In 2020, he renewed his lease for another year at the exclusive Palazzo Versace apartments in Dubai under his real name and phone number.

"Thank you, Lord, for the many blessings in my life. Continue to shame those waiting for me to be shamed," he captioned an Instagram picture of a Rolls-Royce just a fortnight before he was arrested.

Those who knew Lagos-born Abbas before his transformation into Hushpuppi allege these are not the first scams he has carried out.

He allegedly started his fraudulent lifestyle as a "Yahoo boy" - the Nigerian term for men who commit romance fraud by stealing other people's identities online and swindling their none-the-wiser lovers out of money.

A Lagos driver called Saye told the BBC back in 2021 that he developed a taste for the finer things in life - but was always "generous".

"He used to buy beer for everyone around," he said.

However, Abbas' supporters say he is a changed man.

According to Nigerian newspaper Permium Times, two imams wrote to the judge in Los Angeles appealing for leniency, saying he regularly helped out widows and orphans, as well as donating to things like feeding programmes.

Meanwhile, his wife said his arrest had plunged her into hardship - noting that she had to overtime in order to pay for their child's private education.

Abbas himself apologised for his crimes to Judge Otis D Wright in a handwritten note, saying he would use his personal funds to pay back his victims. He also said he had only made $300,000 from the crime he was being tried for.

However, he was still sentenced to 135 months in a federal prison.

BBC

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TikTokers sentenced to lashing in Nigeria for mocking official

Two TikTok stars in Nigeria have been sentenced to a whipping and forced to clean the court after they used social media to mock a government official.

Mubarak Isa Muhammed and Muhammed Bula were found guilty of defaming Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of the northern state of Kano.

The pair's lawyer said they would not challenge the judgement.

Nigeria has seen a growing number of social media stars who use comedy to comment on social and political issues.

Mubarak Isa Muhammad and Muhammad Bala were arrested last week after posting their video - in which they mocked the governor for alleged land grabbing, corruption and sleeping on the job - to TikTok and Facebook.

Prosecution lawyer Wada Ahmed Wada said the men had defamed the governor and that their action was capable of disturbing public peace.

They pleaded guilty and asked for leniency, but the judge ordered them to be given 20 lashes each, to pay a fine of 10,000 naira (£20) and to clean the court premises for 30 days. They were also ordered to publicly apologise to Mr Ganduje on social media.

Their lawyer, Bashir Yusuf, told the BBC they would not challenge the judgement, given it was a ''non-custodial'' sentence - meaning those convicted would not be jailed.

Nigeria has seen a rapid increase in TikTok users in recent years, particularly among young people.

These users sometimes mock public figures, including government officials, by clipping images or videos, often to create comedies that attract massive followers to their accounts.

Kano State, a Muslim-majority part of northern Nigeria, is among about a dozen states in the region that practise the Sharia legal system alongside the country's secular laws. Only Muslims can be tried in Sharia courts.

BBC, By Ishaq Khalid

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Gunmen release children kidnapped from Nigerian farm

A group of 21 children who were abducted by gunmen last week from a farm in northwestern Nigeria's Katsina state were freed and reunited with their families on Saturday, police said.

Kidnapping has become endemic in recent years in Katsina - the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari - as roving gangs of armed men abduct people from schools, hospitals, roads and farms and demand ransom cash from their relatives.

Three of the captives' parents told Reuters the children, aged between 8 and 14, were released after parents paid a ransom of 1.5 million naira ($3,400), but police spokesman Gambo Isa denied a ransom had been paid.

"They have been reunited with their families," Isa said in a message shared via WhatsApp late on Saturday.

The three parents who spoke to Reuters asked not to be named for fear of reprisals from authorities, who do not approve of ransom payments, or from the bandits themselves.

"They said if we don't pay the ransom between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. yesterday (Saturday) they will move into the deep part of the forest with them and then we will never see them," one father said, adding that some parents had to turn to relatives to help raise their share of the money.

Parents said more than 30 children were kidnapped on Oct. 30 while harvesting crops at a farm located between Kamfanin Mailafiya and Kurmin Doka villages in Katsina, but some managed to escape.

Police and the parents said all the remaining captives were now free.

Reuters, by by Libby George

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Nigeria to explore nuclear energy for electricity

President Mohammadu Buhari has said Nigeria would explore nuclear energy to generate electricity.

He also expressed unwavering commitment of his administration to energy mix through acquisition of nuclear power.

The President spoke at the just concluded International Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Power in the 21st Century held in Washington DC.

According to him, the Federal Government has activated the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, NAEC, as the national focal agency charged with the responsibility of developing the framework and technical pathway to explore, exploit and harness atomic energy for peaceful applications for the socio-economic development of the country.

He said Nigeria had also established the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority as an independent agency of government to ensure the safety of humans and the protection of the environment in the process of development, deployment and use of nuclear power.

Buhari, who spoke through the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Sen. Adeleke Mamora, said like most other nations on the continent, Nigeria, with a population of over 200 million people, had a serious energy supply deficit, making it compelling for the government to critically look towards other energy options that were affordable, more environmentally friendly and sustainable.

Consequently, he disclosed that Nigeria had taken a decision to fully explore and harness nuclear energy resources for the generation of electricity, which would contribute to the country’s energy security through an appropriate energy mix

‘‘With the Small Modular Reactor, SMR, technology evolving, Nigeria sees this as a future game-changer in the nuclear industry and looks forward to a greater engagement with the IAEA and other global partners in the coming months and years to discuss the possibility of deploying SMRs in the country.

‘‘Several countries in Africa have genuine aspirations for industrialization and growth but the lack of reliable and sustainable base-load energy constitutes serious impediment.

‘‘Despite all the good policies formulated by African countries, the attainment of real growth and development has remained a mirage due to energy inadequacy. The possibility of nuclear power is now providing African countries with a better alternative for energy generation.

‘‘In this regard, Nigeria is currently engaged in discussions with some countries and vendors for our nuclear power project. Two potential sites for Nigeria’s nuclear power plant have been identified and necessary processes are being undertaken under the Integrated Nuclear Power Programme of Nigeria with the IAEA,” Buhari said.

While expressing Nigeria’s appreciation to DG Grossi and the entire staff of the IAEA as well as the leadership of the Nuclear Energy Agency, NEA, and other partners for arrangements put in place for the conference, the President assured of Nigeria’s full support and cooperation towards the attainment of the goals and objectives of the conference.

Vanguard, by Emmanuel Elebeke

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