Tag: gunmen

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Gunmen abduct four worshippers in Ondo church

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted four worshippers from a church in Uso, Owo Local Council Area of Ondo State.

The worshippers were kidnapped during a night service in the Celestial Church situated along the Owo/Akure highway when armed gunmen stormed the church.

The latest attack comes barely days after suspected bandits killed the Alagamo of Agamo, Oba Kehinde Jacob Falodun, in Akure North Local Government Area during a failed abduction attempt.

In the past few weeks, the state has been faced with increasing security challenges, with the weekly abduction and killing of residents.

According to a resident within the axis, who gave his name as Tomiwa, the kidnappers, who were fully armed, arrived at the church around 1:00 am in the early hours of Wednesday.

Tomiwa disclosed that one of the worshippers was able to escape while the abducted victims were moved to an unknown destination.

Confirming the incident, the Ondo State Police Command revealed that a suspect who is connected to the abduction of the worshippers had been arrested.

The command in a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Abayomi, stated that police and other security agencies in the state have mobilised assets towards rescuing the victims and apprehending the suspects.

He said: “At approximately 12:50 a.m., six worshippers were abducted at a Celestial Church located along the Uso/Owo Expressway in Uso. The victims were reportedly taken to an unknown destination by the attackers.

“Upon receiving the report, the Operatives of the command, in collaboration with the Nigerian Army and local vigilante groups, immediately mobilised to the scene and commenced coordinated rescue operations.

“As a result of sustained joint efforts, one of the kidnapped victims has been successfully rescued. Additionally, one suspect linked to the incident has been arrested and has made useful statements that are assisting with ongoing investigations.

“Security operations are ongoing to ensure the safe rescue of the remaining victims and the apprehension of all perpetrators involved.

“Residents are urged to remain calm, vigilant, and cooperate with security agencies by providing credible and actionable information that may assist ongoing operations.” (Guardian)

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Gunmen kill 9, wound 10 in South Africa bar attack

Nine people were killed when gunmen opened fire at a bar outside Johannesburg early Sunday, police said, in the second such shooting in South Africa this month.

Ten more were wounded in the early morning attack at the tavern in the impoverished Bekkersdal township in a gold mining area around 40 kilometres (25 miles) southwest of the city.

It follows a shooting at a tavern near Pretoria on December 6 when gunmen killed a dozen people, including a three‑year‑old child.

Police initially said 10 people were killed when the Bekkersdal bar was attacked just before 1:00 am (2300 GMT), but later revised the toll downwards.

Most of the attackers were armed with pistols and one had an AK-47 rifle, deputy provincial police commissioner Major General Fred Kekana told SABC television from the scene.

“They entered the tavern and randomly shot at the patrons, unprovoked,” he said.

Three people were killed inside the bar and others as they fled the scene, with the attackers continuing to shoot as they left, he said.

“It’s also reported that after they shot the people, they searched them. They took their valuables, including cell phones,” Kekana said.

The dead included a driver from an online car-hailing service who was driving past.

“It’s pure criminality,” Kekana said. Police launched a manhunt for the attackers and appealed for public assistance.

South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised nation, is grappling with a high crime rate, much of it driven by organised networks and gangs.

The country is awash with legal and illegal firearms and shootings are common, often fuelled by gang rivalry and competition between informal businesses.

The tavern hit in the Pretoria attack earlier this month was an unlicenced outlet in a hostel for migrant workers at Saulsville township.

The dead included children aged three, 12 and 16.

The country was also shocked by the daylight assassination in central Johannesburg last week of a popular former radio presenter known as DJ Warras.

The 40-year-old, whose real name was Warris Stock, was gunned down on December 16 outside a building that he had visited as part of his work with a private security company.

In another high-profile killing, a witness in a corruption inquiry was shot dead in front of his family on December 5, just weeks after testifying against a municipal police chief.

The murder of Marius Van der Merwe, 41, reignited a debate about the targeting of whistleblowers who provide information related to crime and corruption, including the public sector and cases implicating government officials.

South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with an average of 63 people killed each day between April and September, according to police data.

The victims, who had gathered for a traditional ceremony, were aged 14 to 64 years old, and 15 were women. Several men have been arrested. (RFI)

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11 killed, 29 wounded in shooting at Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach; one gunman also dead

At least 12 people were killed and 29 wounded when gunmen fired on a Jewish holiday event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday in what Australian police and officials described as a terrorist attack.

One suspected gunman was killed ‌and another was in a critical condition, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon told a press conference. At least 29 people injured, including two police officers, were taken to hospital, he said.

Police were investigating whether a third gunman was involved in the shooting, and a bomb-disposal unit was working on several suspected improvised explosive devices in cars parked near the beach, Lanyon said.

Mike Burgess, a top Australian intelligence official, said one ⁠of the suspected attackers was known to authorities but had not been deemed an immediate threat.

Sunday’s shootings ‍were the most serious of a string of antisemitic attacks on synagogues, buildings and cars in Australia since the beginning of ‍Israel’s war in Gaza in October ‍2023.

Mass shootings are rare in Australia, one of the world’s safest countries. Sunday’s attack was the worst such incident in the country since 1996, when a gunman ⁠killed 35 people at a tourist site in the southern state of Tasmania.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese convened a meeting of the country’s national security council and condemned the attack, saying the evil that was unleashed was “beyond comprehension”.

“This is a targeted attack on ​Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith,” he said. “At this dark moment for our nation, our police and security agencies are working to determine anyone associated with this outrage.”

Witnesses said the shooting at the famed beach on a hot summer’s evening lasted about 10 minutes, sending hundreds of people scattering along the sand and into nearby streets and parks. Police said around 1,000 people had attended the Hanukkah event alone.

“I was just getting ready to go home, and I was packing my bag, was ⁠ready to catch my bus, and then I started hearing the shots,” said Bondi Junction resident Marcos Carvalho, 38.

“We all panicked and started running as well. So we left everything behind. We just ran through the hill,” he said. “I must have heard, I don’t know, maybe, like, 40, 50 shots.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Jewish people who had gone to light the first candle of the Hanukkah holiday on the beach had been attacked by “vile terrorists”.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he was appalled by the shooting and that Australia’s government must “come to its senses” after countless warnings.

“These are the results of the antisemitic rampage in the streets of Australia over the past two years, with the antisemitic and inciting calls of ‘Globalise the Intifada’ that were realized today.”

One of the world’s most famous beaches, Bondi is typically crowded with locals and tourists.

“If we were targeted deliberately in this way, it’s something of a scale that none of us could have ever fathomed. It’s a horrific thing,” Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told Sky News, adding his media adviser had been wounded in the attack. (JapanToday)

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Shettima arrives in Kebbi over schoolgirls abduction

The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has arrived in Kebbi State to meet with the state government and families of schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, by gunmen.

The aircraft conveying the Shettima landed at the Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport in Birnin Kebbi.

He was accompanied by the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Zubaida Umar, and other government officials.

The VP had departed Abuja for Kebbi on the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He is expected to convey Tinubu’s message to the people of the state, as well as receive a briefing on the situation for onward communication to the President.

The attack on the Kebbi school claimed the life of the school’s Vice Principal, Malam Hassan Makuku, who was reportedly killed while trying to prevent the bandits from taking the girls away.

The police said on Monday that a combined tactical team were deployed to comb the forest in a bid to rescue the girls.

President Bola Tinubu condemned the attack and commiserated with the families of those affected.

He also postponed his scheduled trips to Johannesburg in South Africa and Luanda, Angola, to attend the 20th G20 Summit of leaders and the 7th AU-EU Summit, respectively. (Channels)