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Kaduna Train Attackers Operated For 2 Hrs, Shot Us, Kidnapped Others With Buses – Survivors

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Some survivors of Monday night’s deadly attack on the Kaduna-bound train, have recounted horrible ordeals during the encounter.

Malami Muhammadu, one of the survivors, who said he hid under a seat while observing the terrorists, narrated how they took away many passengers with their vehicles.

He said the terrorists came with buses and evacuated a number of passengers during the attack.

Muhammadu who spoke in a radio interview monitored by Vanguard on Tuesday night, said he was in coach SP 17 when the train was hit and derailed.

“The terrorists, many of them, rushed into our coach and killed a passenger. I hid under the seat and saw them taking away many passengers,” he said.

“An argument ensued amongst the terrorists after killing the passenger and they couldn’t pay attention to us. We were about 10 that remained in coach when they left.

”The terrorists proceeded to the VIP coach and abducted many passengers. One of the VIPs who managed to escape and returned to us told us that they filled a vehicle with abductees.

“They came with Sharon vehicles, they shot some abductees in the vehicles but 9 passengers were later confirmed dead Others were severely injured, they were shot in their legs.

“We saw the train driver. He came out and attempted to run but they shot and killed him. I saw the terrorists with my own eyes. They were chanting Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar!! Come down, come down!!”.

”I was hiding under the seat praying…it remained about two steps for the terrorists to get to me but after killing a passenger, they went out of the arguing.”

“They abducted many passengers. Later about 300 soldiers came. The soldiers took us to a nearby hill where we sat down. They said vehicles will come to convey us to Kaduna. The soldiers also attended to those who were injured.

“The soldiers said we should stop making noise and put out lights because we could still be in danger. We were at a place after Rijana about a 20-minute ride to Rigasa Kaduna.

“Some passengers were injured severely. Some old people had trauma, one old person had an asthmatic attack, another died of a heart attack. The dead bodies were left on the train. It will be difficult to convey the corpses to the hilltop where we took refuge.

”We were traumatized for about 2 hours. The soldiers exchanged fire with the terrorists. They chased them and rescued some passengers, but we were really traumatized. Almighty Allah saved us “

”The soldiers killed some of the terrorists. Some terrorists lost their lives,” he said.

Another survivor, Maimuna Ibrahim, who spoke to journalists on her hospital bed where she is nursing a bullet wound on her thigh, said the experience was horrendous.

According to her, “We saw hell, I prayed and prayed and prayed. I went to a workshop in Abuja in the morning and I was on my way back to Kaduna that same day after the workshop. I was shot in the thigh. But the bullet did not touch my bone. The bullet penetrated out of my thigh. Honestly, we suffered serious, but thank God soldiers came and they really helped us.”

Maimuna said she was unable to walk after she was shot and soldiers had to carry her out of the train to a vehicle by the expressway

“I was unable to walk, it was the soldiers who carried me on the back to the vehicle that brought us to the hospital. They were able to pass over the cliff, carrying us on their backs! Seriously, they tried because it was not easy climbing the cliff.

“The terrorists came, were moving about in the train, but they did not come to where I was seated. I was hit by the bullet through the window. They entered SP17. As they were shooting, the police security on the train asked us to lie down on the floor of the train so that the bullet will not get at us. Unfortunately, before I could lie down the bullet hit me.

“I saw the terrorists from the window. They were many, they were small boys between the ages of 18 and 20. They appeared like Fulani. They wore turbans. They don’t look like Nigerians. They were shouting Allahakubar. They abducted some people, I saw them forcing people out of the train. They were beating them as they were taking them out of the train.” She added.

Fatima Shuaibu, a student at College of Education, Gidan Waya, Kaduna state, on her part, said her sister was killed in the attack.

“My sister, Zainab Awal, was shot in the stomach and she died,” she said amid tears.

“I was seated by the window in the train. Suddenly I started seeing flashes of touch light, this was around 8 pm. Then there was a loud bang as if something exploded. Then the train went off track as if was falling down. We started shouting and praying. As soon as the train stopped, we started hearing gunshots.

“The security personnel on the train announced that everybody should lie down on the floor of the train. They attacked the VIP couch, they abducted some people and took them to the bush, they shot other people

“They operated for about two hours or so before soldiers and Airforce arrived and they exchanged gunshots. The terrorists came with five buses and motorcycles. Those who were abducted were taken away in the Sharon buses. The terrorists were small boys between 18 to 20 years. I saw them, they don’t look like Nigerians. The soldiers rescued us on the train. Those of us who were injured were evacuated from the train. They climbed the cliff with us and took us to the expressway where vehicles were brought to carry people.” She added.

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Court Remands Woman For Allegedly Stabbing Husband To Death In Ibadan

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An Iyaganku Chief Magistrates’ Court yesterday ordered the remand of a housewife, Olajumoke Olalere, 33, at Agodi Correctional facility, Ibadan, for allegedly stabbing her husband to death.

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Olabisi Ogunkanmi, who did not take the defendant’s plea for lack of jurisdiction, ordered her remand pending the legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP).

She, thereafter, adjourned the case until March 5, 2025 for mention.

According to The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the police charged Olalere with a count of murder.

The prosecutor, Cpl. Akeem Akinloye, had told the court that the defendant on October 30, at 9.00 p.m. allegedly caused the death of her 39-year-old husband, Oluwasegun Tinubu.

Akinloye said the defendant allegedly stabbed her husband with a knife during a disagreement at their house, at Zone 5, Gbelu, Iyana – Agbala, Ibadan.

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BIG STORY

UPDATE: EFCC Grants Former Delta Governor Okowa Bail Over Alleged N1.3trn Fraud

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The Port Harcourt zonal command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has granted administrative bail to Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, a former governor of Delta State, over allegations of diverting N1.3 trillion in 13% derivation funds from the federation account between 2015 and 2023.

Okowa was arrested on Monday, November 4, 2024, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, after reporting to the Port Harcourt Directorate of the EFCC at the invitation of investigators handling his case.

Sources confirmed that the former governor left the EFCC facility around 9 pm on Wednesday night.

A source under anonymity stated: “He left the facility at about 9 pm yesterday (Wednesday).”

“Okowa is expected to return soon to provide documents and answer more questions before the matter will be charged to court.”

The former governor is accused of failing to account for the 13% derivation funds, as well as an additional N40 billion, which he allegedly claimed to have used to acquire shares in UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

Specifically, Okowa is said to have purchased N40 billion worth of shares in one of the country’s major banks, representing an 8% equity stake in the offshore LNG venture.

The funds are also alleged to have been diverted for other purposes, including acquiring properties in Abuja and Asaba, Delta State.

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Oil Marketers Respond To Dangote Refinery Claims, Say SON, NMDPRA Certify Imported Petrol

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The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) certify the imported Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, that is imported into Nigeria, oil marketers have said.

They disclosed this on Thursday in response to claims by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery that off-spec petroleum products were imported into the country by dealers.

On Tuesday, the refinery informed Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited and other oil marketers that the deregulation of the downstream oil sector should not be used as a justification for the importation of off-spec petroleum products or the undermining of Nigeria’s national interests.

Oil marketers denied this claim on Thursday, with the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited, Robert Dickerman, revealing that his firm signed a 13-year agreement with the Dangote refinery to distribute the refinery’s petroleum products through pipelines.

Dickerman pointed out that independent inspectors, NMDPRA, and SON, among others, “inspect our products, so we can’t bring in off-spec products into this country.”

His position was confirmed by SON, as an impeccable source at the agency told one of our correspondents that the Standards Organisation of Nigeria was involved in the testing of imported petroleum products.

The official added that the organisation operates its own laboratory facility to check if the commodities are off-spec or not.

“Yes, We are involved in the testing of petroleum products when they come into the country. We are involved in that. We have our laboratory facility where these tests are conducted. It’s to ensure if the commodities meet regulatory standards or off-spec,” the official said.

A major marketer also kicked against the claim that dealers import off-spec products into the country, particularly since the downstream oil sector was deregulated by the Federal Government.

“I once told you what we went through when we brought in our imported cargo of petrol. The product underwent a lot of laboratory tests. I know the NMDPRA carries out tests on imported products. They took a sample of our recent import when it was still in the mother vessel at Atlas Cove before it was moved to Apapa.

“At the point of discharge, they took the sample again before allowing us to put it in our tanks. The NMDPRA has certified laboratories that they use. We have our laboratory, but the NMDPRA will not allow you to do your test without them certifying the product by themselves.

“The testing is in three stages, the one in Atlas Cove when the vessel lands in Nigeria. When the product moves to your point of discharge, they will do another test before they allow it into your tanks and aside from that, the day you want to start loading they will carry another test,” the marketer, who spoke in confidence due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.

Addressing newsmen in Lagos on Thursday, Dickerman said the clarification became necessary to debunk the statement from the Dangote refinery, which accused Pinnacle of plans to blend substandard petrol in Nigeria.

The Dangote refinery had also said the Pinnacle MD approached it, pleading with the refinery to extend pipelines to its tank farms in order to blend substandard imported petroleum products with its ‘high-quality’ ones.

Reacting, Dickerman described the statement as defamatory, inaccurate, and intentionally misleading.

The managing director said it proposed and invested in pipelines to distribute petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery, saying pipeline transfer is far less costly than distribution by ship or trucking across the country.

According to him, when the project was proposed to Dangote, it wholeheartedly agreed and signed a 13-year interconnection agreement with Pinnacle Oil.

“On November 5, Dangote issued a Press Release titled, ’Pinnacle Oil and Gas FZE: Our Stand’. It is unfortunate and deeply concerning that this release contained several statements that are defamatory, inaccurate and intentionally misleading. Further, it advocated a national policy that would cause severe economic damage to Nigerians by raising the cost of petrol above global market prices and higher than they are today.

“In our effort to further enhance distribution efficiency, we proposed and invested in pipelines to distribute petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery, as pipeline transfer is far less costly than distribution by ship or trucking across the country. When we proposed this project to Dangote, they wholeheartedly agreed and signed a 13-year interconnection agreement with us.

“In addition, Dangote facilitated our process of achieving regulatory approval by writing two Letters of No Objection to the regulator to enable our project to proceed. The agreement to allow us to interconnect our pipeline to them was agreed actually in 2022 and I think it was signed in early 2023. So it was about two years ago that we actually reached this agreement, and it was done very comprehensively, from a commercial and a legal standpoint,” Dickerman stated.

He narrated that a lot of processes had gone into the project since it was signed, including the engineering design for the pipelines, surveying, getting the right of way, and letters of no objections from anyone who could be affected by the pipeline.

“There’s a whole bunch of stages to a project. This is not unlike any other construction project. It’s a very simple and straightforward process. This was done first. There was never a hint that this was not a good deal for both parties ever. So, it’s just not true that they opposed it. It’s simply not true that they opposed it. They supported it,“ the Pinnacle boss stated.

This came as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited denied a video clip that claimed the oil firm was selling dirty fuel from an NNPC Retail outlet at Keffi Flyover.

“We have carried out spot checks at all our outlets and found this claim to be false. The product was not, and could not have been bought from any NNPC Retail outlet as the company does not dispense petroleum products into bottles or jerrycans as displayed in the video,” it said in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye.

It added, “NNPC Retail Ltd does not deal in adulterated products as it adheres to rigorous standards and quality control measures at every stage in its operations to ensure that only high quality, safe, and reliable petroleum products are available at its stations nationwide.

“Members of the public should discountenance the spurious claims made in the video and be wary of selfish and unpatriotic elements pushing such a narrative as they do not mean well for the country.”

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