No fewer than 78 people have died and 73 others injured after being stampeded in a school in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, where they had gathered to receive cash gifts from merchants to wrap up the Ramadan fasting season. The stampede occurred late Wednesday evening in a school where hundreds of people had gathered for cash donations of about $10 per person, Houthi officials said. Armed officials fired shots into the air to control the massive crowd, but one of the rounds hit an electrical line and caused it to burst, sending the locals scrambling for cover, according to witnesses Abdel-Rahman Ahmed and Yahia Mohsen, who spoke to The Associated Press about the incident. Footage by Houthi officials showed scattered shoes and clothing lying on the ground as they tried to assess the level of damage after the stampede. The merchants were blamed for the stampede by the interior ministry’s spokesperson, Abdel-Khaleq al-Aghri, who said that the “random distribution” of money without adequate planning and involvement from local authorities was to blame. As investigations concerning the tragic incident are being conducted by the government, two merchants who funded the donations have been detained. Additionally, the Houthis have committed to pay $2000 in compensation to the families of the deceased and $400 to the injured.

  Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has asked his supporters to remain calm and show restraint in the face of provocation. In a statement on Wednesday, Obi said recent events in Nigeria, including political developments in Adamawa state, underline the importance of adhering to the rule of law. He said as a patriotic Nigerian, he remains committed to serving the people and achieving a greater Nigeria. He called on Nigerians to pray for a better and greater country. “Nigeria is a truly blessed and potentially great nation. With the Almighty God on our side, Nigeria’s greatness will soon manifest fully, thus ensuring that she is well-respected globally,” Obi said. “In view of this, l ask all well-meaning Nigerians to commit their heart to prayers for a better and greater Nigeria. “It bears reiterating as I did yesterday at the National Executive Council Meeting of the Labour Party held in Asaba, that the millions of Nigerians who voted for Datti and I did not just cast their votes, but they invested their hope in us for a new Nigeria, “So we must stay the course. H.E. President Muhammadu Buhari asked Nigerian youths to have faith in Nigeria and prepare for leadership roles when he signed the ‘Not Too Young to Run Act’ into law. “I agree with him that we have enough vibrant and intelligent Nigerian youths ready to propel Nigeria to greatness, and it is my desire and commitment to empower Nigerian youths to leadership. “Yet, we must do our utmost to be calm even under provocation; we must also not allow those bent on using any pretext to plunge our country into chaos and leave our youths without a future to succeed.” He asked his supporters to show restraint as they did during the elections and keep hope alive for a better Nigeria. “We were provoked during the elections, but we showed restraint, patriotism and wisdom because we were voting for a greater Nigeria and not for the destruction of Nigeria,” he said. “I plead to every Nigerian to keep the faith and hope in Nigeria alive. We are on this journey together, and better and happier years await all of us. God bless the good people of Nigeria and the Federal Republic of Nigeria”

  Terrorists in the Birnin Magaji area of Zamfara State have vowed to continue attacking local communities in the area until a unit of soldiers stationed in the area is withdrawn, residents told PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday morning. PREMIUM TIMES spoke to four residents from Birnin Magaji, Mazauda, Nasarawa Mai layi and Gidan Kane communities on the recent attacks that led to the death of 16 people. Several others were wounded during the attacks. The residents, who asked not to be named for security reasons, also said the terrorists has placed a ban on all farming activities this rainy season in the area until the soldiers are withdrawn. A resident of Gidan Kane said the terrorists attacked three communities on Sunday night. “They killed two people in Tunkuda, two in Mashayawo and four in Mazauda. They went from village to village terrorising people. On Monday, they attacked Maituri and killed three people. All these communities are under Gusami Hayi ward,” he said. He said on the same Sunday, the terrorists attacked Tungar Danjuma and Kiri Fada and killed four people, “it was even more daring because the attacks on these two villages were in carried out in broad daylight when Muslim faithful were finishing the early evening prayer.” “Bandits are intensifying attacks on communities in our area lately. They have attacked communities like Mazauda, Tunkuda, Tungar Danjuma, Mashayawo, Nasarawa Mai layi and Kiri-Fada in the last two days,” a youth leader in Birnin Magaji told PREMIUM TIMES over the phone A resident of Mazauda said the terrorists told residents that the attacks will not stop until a nearby military unit is withdrawn. “Yes, they said they’re attacking us because we’re helping government people to send soldiers and vigilante members to our areas. In one of the meetings our elders had with some of the Fulani bandits, they said since we’re inviting soldiers, they would continue to attack us,” he said. The Gidan Kane residents the assailants told them the same thing. They said they promised to stop the attacks when the soldiers are withdrawn. “Because the soldiers are always on alert especially in day time, the bandits are being forced to reduce the number of attacks they carry. Also, when they attack, the soldiers sometimes follow them and kill some of them. So, they felt since we’re the ones informing the soldiers and vigilante group members of their movement, they will continue to attack us,” he said. When asked how the terrorists launched series of attacks on Sunday and Monday without being challenged by the soldiers, he said the security agents were not informed. “The soldiers were stationed in Kara Zube village but they go for patrol. When we call them sometimes, it takes time before they arrive especially if they’re in a far community. But they are really trying, l” he said. In Nasarawa Mai layi, the terrorists killed one person and wounded several others on Monday. “Unfortunately, while the injured were being taken to the hospital in Gusau, they were ambushed by another group of terrorists. They escaped without being hurt though they lost all their money. They’re in hospital in Gusau and are being taken care of,” a resident of Nasarawa Mai layi told PREMIUM TIMES over the phone. The police spokesperson in the state, Mohammed Shehu did not respond to calls and SMS sent to him by this reporter over the attacks. Zamfara State, North-west Nigeria, has been witnessing series of terrorists activities for over a decade.

  Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, on Thursday, accused the presidency of placing cows above human lives. Ortom stated this through his Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur, while reacting to an earlier statement issued by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu. The president’s media aide had in a statement issued on Wednesday raised steps the Federal Government had taken to address the insecurity problem in Benue State but was frustrated by the outgoing governor who he said was paying lip service to security and using it to drive his politics in the state. Shehu said, “Instead, Ortom stubbornly refused to engage with the detailed, holistic approach clearly spelt out by the federal government. “He arrogantly chose his own destructive path. He blamed the Fulani for every problem that arose. He ignored numerous intelligence reports passed to him for action. “He rejected police findings into investigations that didn’t meet his egoistical worldview. He politicised every life lost on his watch. But Ortom likened the statement of the presidency to making animals urinate in the graves of victims of herdsmen invasion of the state, alleging that the president was indeed responsible for the killings in the state. He said, “The Presidency has shown in this recent public statement that they have placed cows above human lives and made the animals urinate on the graves of those they massacred in Benue and elsewhere across the country. If not, they wouldn’t have gone to town to mock the slain in their graves. “It is an insult to Benue people including those killed and butchered children, the maimed, raped and abused women and the over two million people living under squalid conditions in Nigeria’s largest Internally Displaced Camps in the state. “The Presidency’s statement is a reckless stab by agents of genocide against the Benue people by blaming the victims. He said, “The Presidency has shown in this recent public statement that they have placed cows above human lives and made the animals urinate on the graves of those they massacred in Benue and elsewhere across the country. If not, they wouldn’t have gone to town to mock the slain in their graves. “It is an insult to Benue people including those killed and butchered children, the maimed, raped and abused women and the over two million people living under squalid conditions in Nigeria’s largest Internally Displaced Camps in the state. “The Presidency’s statement is a reckless stab by agents of genocide against the Benue people by blaming the victims. Related News Benue invested in Nigeria Airforce Aerodome upgrade — Ortom Suspend planned census, Ortom urges FG Benue anti-open grazing law still in force – Ortom Ortom stated that the ongoing pogrom in the state was a designed plot by the Fulani against the people of the state to dispossess them of their lands adding that the atrocities were well documented. “The perpetrators are also well known to local and international authorities. Through this recent posturing, everyone is now aware that the perpetrators have the backing and sympathy of the Federal Government. On the mockery of PDP and Ortom’s senatorial seat loss, the outgoing governor said that such mockery now strengthens his belief that the massive deployment of security personnel for the elections in the state was planned and hatched in the presidential villa and supervised by agents of the APC. Ortom who said he had publicly announced his readiness to sacrifice his senatorial seat for equity and justice however said that ‘the 2023 elections were heavily rigged using some security operatives, money, federal might and electronic means. ” Governor Ortom’s decision not to challenge the result of the Benue North West Senatorial election in court again points to the fact that he is not a selfish and desperate politician. While describing the presidency’s statement as the ‘height of recklessness and gross insensitivity against the people of Benue’, Ortom said he had always given full cooperation to all layers of security agencies working in the state to help curtail the menace of the Fulani killing squad displacing various communities in the state and other internal security skirmishes. “Between 2015 and this year, Governor Ortom has constantly held security meetings and gathered intelligence to support security agencies operating in the state. “He has however consistently pointed out that the security agencies are grossly underfunded and deserve to be better equipped and motivated to tackle insecurity in the country. “It is therefore laughable when Shehu ignorantly tries to whip up an unfounded lie against the Governor,” the statement read in parts.

  Authorities of the Nigerian Armed Forces have disclosed that its troops neutralized sixty-three (63) Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa terrorists between the beginning of March and the 15th of April. In addition to neutralizing the terrorists, the troops also liberated over 150 victims in the course of their different operations across the country, including Hadarin Daji, Hadin Kai, and Delta Safe. Major General Musa Danmadani, the Director Defence Media Operations told newsmen at the Defence Headquarters on Thursday, that the troops in the process also recovered several items including about thirty-six (36) ak-47 rifles, ak-47 magazines, other sophisticated weapons, food stuffs, motorcycles, explosives and rustled cattle from the terrorists.   He also revealed that the military recovered stolen crude oil and automotive gas oil also known as ago worth two hundred and fifty-nine million naira (N259m) from the hands of illegal oil bunkers in the Niger Delta.

  Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), says the federal government is consulting with relevant agencies on how to evacuate Nigerian students in Sudan. Violent clashes between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, have killed over 270 people. Thousands of civilians have fled Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, with foreign nations making efforts to evacuate their citizens amid a sixth day of fierce fighting. In a statement signed by Gabriel Odu, NIDCOM spokesperson, Dabiri-Erewa was quoted as saying she has noted with concern the plight of Nigerian students in Sudan.   She said the commission has received “the letter of solocitation” from the National Association of Nigerian Students in Sudan for possible evacuation, especially those in Khartoum. Dabiri-Erewa assured that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is consulting with the Nigerian mission in Sudan and other relevant agencies. She urged all Nigerian students in Sudan as well as Nigerians living in the country to be security conscious and remain calm.

  Lai Mohammed, minister of information, has accused Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), of failing to correct Datti Baba-Ahmed, his running mate, over his controversial comments. On March 22, Datti said Nigeria has no president-elect despite the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announcing Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election. The LP vice-presidential candidate said Tinubu would be leading an unconstitutional government if sworn into office, adding that the APC candidate “has not met requirements of the law”. Speaking with state house correspondents on Wednesday, Lai said nobody has the right to call for insurrection in the country. “I said Obi has every right to seek redress in court like Labour Party but nobody has the right to call for insurrection or to threaten to say that if the president-elect is sworn-in, that would be the end of democracy,” Lai said. “And that was precisely what Obi’s running mate said on live television and I have not heard Obi rein him in or correct him; so, if your running mate says something; of course, he was saying on behalf of the party and on behalf of the candidate. “That is why I said that was treason; for anybody to say that if a duly elected president in Nigeria is sworn in, that will be the end of democracy is treason. For anybody to say if you swear in a duly elected president, you are swearing the military, it is treason. “So, I don’t see anything controversy in that.” ‘2023 POLLS WERE THE MOST TRANSPARENT ‘ He said President Muhammadu Buhari did not confer any advantage on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) during the presidential election. The minister said he clarified the issue during a recent official trip to the US, noting that he told his audience that Buhari prevented the use of security agencies to rig elections. He added that the last election was largely the least violent in the history of Nigeria. “I went to the US to balance the skewed report about the just concluded elections; and everywhere I went, I said very unambiguously that the last general elections in Nigeria are the most transparent,” he said. “It was the freest and the most authentic Nigeria had ever held, and that is despite the effort of the opposition to delegitimise the election. “And I put forward my position there that the two reasons the election was the best was one. “That the introduction of technology especially, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System(BVAS), made it pretty difficult for anybody to do the usual things before like over-voting, stuffing of ballot boxes and the likes because once it takes your biometrics; you cannot vote twice.’’ “The first instance was that the president did not confer any advantage on his ruling party; and that as far as he was concerned, he would rather lose the election than win at all cost; and the result showed it.”

  More than two persons have died in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, over a squabble that allegedly began when a passenger paid a tricycle operator N100 while the tricyclist demanded N150 fee. The squabble ensued led to the tricyclist stabbing the passenger which led to his death.   A mob at the Yenizue-Epie area of Yenagoa where the squabble ensued subsequently stoned the tricyclist to death. The incident triggered an outburst of violence between the Hausa community in Yenagoa and the inhabitants of Yenizue-Epie. As of the time of filing this report, the Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, has called for a meeting between the Hausa community and the leaders of Yenizue-Epie.

  Delta State Government has confirmed the death of six persons killed by rainstorm in Oko Community, Oshimili South Local Government Area of the state. Confirming the incident at a news conference in Asaba on Thursday, the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, said five other persons, who sustained varying degrees of injury, were being treated at a hospital. He said, “A collapsed structure led to the death of six persons, one other person is critically injured and is being attended to at the Asaba Specialist Hospital. Five others sustained injuries and are already in stable condition. “It is something that is quite disturbing and unfortunate. It is our prayer that God will grant the deceased eternal rest even as we pray to God to comfort the bereaved families and grant them the fortitude to bear their loss.” In a related development, a 10-year-old boy was swept away at Okotomi area of Okpanam Community in Oshimili North Local Government Area. The commasioner said the state government was coordinating rescue efforts to search for the boy. On the falling of a petrol tanker on Udu Bridge, Aniagwu appealed to residents to be patient, saying that efforts were on to evacuate the tanker for free flow of traffic.