Category: Security - Page 13 - African News Today

Many Killed In Ondo Catholic Church Attack

5Jun

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

News, Nigeria, Religion, Security

Many Killed In Ondo Catholic Church Attack

Over 40 people have been reportedly killed in an attack on St Francis Catholic Church, Owa-luwa Street, in Owo town, Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State. It was learnt that the incident happened in the church, which is less than 200 meters away from the Palace of Olowo of Owo. Workers at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, confirmed that many people were brought in dead on Sunday. The attack was carried out during the Sunday mass, reports say. A viral online video showed some worshippers being killed and lying on the floor of the church in the pool of their own blood. One of the health workers on duty at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, where the casualties were taken to said over 50 people had been brought to the hospital. He said, “They are still bringing people t...

Vandals Loot Graves In Mozambique For Scrap Metal

4Jun

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Crime, News, Security

Vandals Loot Graves In Mozambique For Scrap Metal

Residents of Beira city in the central Mozambican province of Sofala have called for protection of local cemeteries amid reports of vandalism of graves. At the Mangalane cemetery, more than 50 graves have been vandalised in the past month. The criminals are removing copper crucifixes and other metallic objects. The traditional leader responsible for the cemetery, Fernando Jaime, said the acts of desecration have been taking place in broad daylight. Read Also: Hoodlums Kill Three, Loot Hospitals in Darfur – MSF "They take crosses and other objects of dead people they find beside the grave. They put these things together and sell them for scrap," he told local media. Carlos Cassicussa, a resident of the Mungassa neighbourhood, said the situation was the result of a degrad...

South African Police Decry Increased Crime Rate

4Jun

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Crime, News, Security, South Africa, Violence

South African Police Decry Increased Crime Rate

South Africa's police minister on Friday decried a "brutal" surge in murders and other violent crime, in a nation that was already among the world's most dangerous. "The first three months of this year were violent, brutal and unsafe for many South Africans," Bheki Cele told a news conference. Between January and March, 6,083 people were killed - a 22.2 percent increase from the same period last year. The killings took an especially alarming toll among children, leaving 306 dead, a 37.2 percent increase, he said. Read Also: Zimbabwean Killed as Protest Rocks South Africa Reported sexual offenses rose by 13.7 percent, with 10,818 people raped. Kidnappings showed the sharpest increase, with 3,306 cases reported -- more than double the number from a year ago. "The qu...

What Kidnappers Told Us About Buhari – Methodist Prelate

1Jun

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

News, Nigeria, Religion, Security

What Kidnappers Told Us About Buhari – Methodist Prelate

The Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence, Samuel Kanu-Uche, who was abducted by gunmen suspected to be kidnappers has said the criminal elements expressed anger about President Muhammadu Buhari. During a press briefing in Lagos on Tuesday, the cleric, who said the kidnappers showed him decomposing bodies of some past victims, revealed that they are Fulani boy He said the assailants vowed that they would chew the president if he fell into their hands, saying Buhari has disappointed them. He said, “They even said that if they get Buhari, they will chew him to pieces because he had disappointed them. “We were taken into the bush and we trekked up to 15 kilometres. Eventually at 11 pm, they said we should negotiate and each of us should pay N50m, making N15...

Sudan Lifts State Of Emergency Imposed Since Coup

30May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

African Development, Armed Forces, News, Security, Sudan

Sudan Lifts State Of Emergency Imposed Since Coup

Sudan's military government has lifted a state of emergency which it imposed after seizing power in a coup six months ago and recommended freedom for people detained under an emergency law. The decision by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of Sudan’s ruling sovereign council, came hours after the Security and Defense Council, Sudan’s highest body that decides on security matters suggested. The news came the same day as the U.N. envoy for Sudan regretted the killing of 2 anti-coup protestors in Khartoum Saturday. The two were killed in during protests in Khartoum’s Kalakla neighborhood. One was shot dead by security forces and the other suffocated after inhaling tear gas, according to the Sudan Doctors Committee, which is part of the pro-democracy movement. "Calling...

Pope’s July Visit To Africa To Go Ahead Despite Health Issues

29May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Congo, News, Religion, Security, Violence

Pope’s July Visit To Africa To Go Ahead Despite Health Issues

Pope Francis is set to make a gruelling trip to two African countries in July despite knee problems that have forced him to use a cane and wheelchair in recent weeks. The Vatican issued a full programme on Saturday for the July 2-7 trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. There had been speculation the pope's visit to Africa might be postponed, as was a trip to Lebanon scheduled for June. The 85-year-old pope has been undergoing treatment for knee pain, believed to be caused by a torn ligament. The trip's pace suggests the Vatican expects the pope's condition to improve in the next month, although officials say privately that he likely will use a wheelchair at least some of the time. The visit includes thousands of miles of travel, five flights and at least a...

Thousands Abandon Their Homes Amid DR Congo Battles

28May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Armed Forces, Congo, News, Rwanda, Safety, Security, Terrorism

Thousands Abandon Their Homes Amid DR Congo Battles

More than 37,000 people have been forced from their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo over the last four days of fighting, according to aid agencies. Local media report that the national army has retaken some areas that had been seized by the M23 rebels in recent days. But the main road between Rutshuru and the North Kivu regional capital, Goma, remains blocked by the M23. The DR Congo government has again accused Rwanda of supporting the rebels, which the government in Kigali denies. Earlier this week, Rwanda called for a regional investigation into how some artillery fire crossed into its territory, injuring some Rwandans. Read Also: Over 50 Villages Vacated Due to Bandits’ Attacks in Niger – Gov Bello On Wednesday, a police chief in Goma asked locals to ta...

‘Nnamdi Kanu Will Be Shocked’ – Lawyer On Beheading Of Anambra Lawmaker

23May

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Crime, News, Nigeria, Security

‘Nnamdi Kanu Will Be Shocked’ – Lawyer On Beheading Of Anambra Lawmaker

Ifeanyi Ejiofor, a counsel of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has reacted to the beheading of Okey Okoye, a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, by unknown gunmen. Ejiofor said Kanu would be “gravely shocked” to learn of such killings in the South-East. He lamented that blood-sucking demons have taken over the South-East. Gunmen had kidnapped the deceased, who represents Aguata II State constituency in Aguata, a few weeks ago. But the police discovered Okoye’s head without a body on Saturday. The lawmaker’s decapitated head was recovered at a motor park in Nnobi. Reacting to the incident, Ejiofor said Kanu would not condone such acts in the South-East. In a statement, Ejiofor said those behind such killings in the South-East...

NASS Should Invite Buhari – Oby Ezekwesili On Beheading Of Anambra Lawmaker

23May

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Crime, Legislature, News, Nigeria, Security

NASS Should Invite Buhari – Oby Ezekwesili On Beheading Of Anambra Lawmaker

Oby Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Education, has called on the National Assembly to invite President Muhammadu Buhari to account for insecurity in the country. Ezekwesili made the call in response to the beheading of a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Okechukwu Okoye by unknown gunmen. Okoye’s head, without his body, was found on Saturday at Nnobi, in Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State. This development occurred days after he was abducted. Read Also: Soludo Places N10m Bounty On Killers Who Beheaded Lawmaker, Okoye The Anambra lawmaker, from Soludo’s constituency, was kidnapped last week. Reacting, Ezekwesili tweeted: “Perhaps, now that our @nassnigeria has seen that their fellow lawmaker in Anambra State could be barbarically mangled...

Three Italians Kidnapped In Southern Mali

21May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Crime, Mali, News, Security, Terrorism

Three Italians Kidnapped In Southern Mali

Armed men kidnapped an Italian couple and their son in southern Mali overnight, their church said on Friday, as violence spreads in a country ravaged by an Islamist insurgency. A spokesman for the Jehovah's Witnesses church in neighboring Senegal said the couple is in their 70s and their son is about 50. They were living in Mali for personal reasons and are not missionaries, he said. It was not immediately clear who took them, he said. Media outlets reported that a Togolese national was kidnapped along with the Italians, but the spokesman said he could not confirm that. Italy's foreign affairs ministry confirmed the kidnapping in a statement. “The Crisis Unit is making every effort - in coordination with the competent State bodies - to find a positive solution to the case,...