Nigeria

JOS: The number of people killed after a mob stormed a bus carrying Muslim wedding guests in central Nigeria’s volatile Plateau state has risen to 12, according to the Nigerian presidency.
The dead include the groom’s father and brother, it said.
President Bola Tinubu has condemned the killings, the latest attack to hit the region where tensions are high after a series of bloody attacks in recent days, with ethnic Fulani nomadic Muslim herders suspected of killing dozens of people in Plateau’s Mangu local government area.
Police, survivors and local organizations said around 30 people on a bus to a wedding lost their way, stopped to ask for directions, and were accosted by an irate mob.
They were attacked with sticks, machetes and stones and their bus set ablaze, a survivor told AFP. Initially authorities had confirmed eight dead with four reported missing.
Tinubu described the lynching “as unacceptable and barbaric,” said a statement from his office which said the dead included the groom’s father and brother.
The Nigerian leader ordered the arrest and punishment of the culprits as he urged the Plateau state government to “take decisive action in handling these vicious cycles of violence.”
Fulani herders in the state have long clashed with settled farmers, many of whom are Christian, over access to land and resources.
Police say they have arrested 22 suspects in connection with the attack.

WNAM MONITORING: Nigerian President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency Tuesday in the oil-rich region of Rivers State following a prolonged political crisis and governance paralysis.

Tinubu said during a nationwide broadcast that he suspended Gov. Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and all elected members from the state who are in the House of Assembly for six months.

“The latest security reports made available to me show that between yesterday and today, there have been disturbing incidents of vandalization of pipelines by some militants without the governor taking any action to curtail them. I have, of course, given stern orders to the security agencies to ensure the safety of the lives of the good people of Rivers State and the oil pipelines,” he said.

The situation in Rivers State has been volatile, with the governor accused of gross misconduct, including spending public funds contrary to the Constitution and hindering the state’s House of Assembly from performing its duties.

Before Tinubu’s address, the assembly had announced an indefinite recess, preventing Fubara from presenting the 2025 budget.

Tinubu’s declaration is based on a section of the constitution that interprets a state of emergency as a situation of national danger or disaster.

The president has nominated retired Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas as administrator to take charge of the state’s affairs during the six-month period.

LAGOS: At least 60 people were killed and scores of others injured when an oil tanker exploded in northern Nigeria on Saturday, senior officials said.

Kumar Tsukwam, the commander of Niger State’s Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), confirmed the incident in the Suleja Local Government Area, saying scores of others were injured while attempting to scoop fuel from a petrol tanker that had spilled on the road.

“So far, 60 corpses have been recovered from the scene,” Tsukwam said in a statement. He, however, added that all FRSC personnel and other agencies are still on the scene carrying out rescue operations.

In a separate statement, Abdullahi Baba-Arah, director general of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), explained that the explosion occurred when one oil tanker collided with another tanker and later attempted to transfer the oil.

While this was going on, the petrol came into contact with a generator used to complete the transfer, resulting in an explosion that killed and injured many.

He added that property valued at millions of naira, the currency of the West African nation, which currently exchanges at about 1,560 to the US dollar, was destroyed in the blaze.

KANO ( WNAM MONITORING): At least three people died in a helicopter crash in Nigeria’s oil-rich state of Port Harcourt on Thursday, with five others missing according to the country’s Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development.

The crash was reported to have taken place at 11.22 a.m. local time (1022GMT) in Rivers State near the country’s Atlantic coast.

The helicopter, a Sikorsky SK76 operated by the company East Wind Aviation, was en route from Port Harcourt Military Base (DNPM) to the Nuimantan oil rig when it crashed near the city of Finima.

Ministry spokesperson Odutayo Oluseyi said eight people were on board the aircraft when it crashed, including the three confirmed dead.

He said the military taking part in ongoing efforts to locate survivors, aided by low-flying aircraft.

This comes after several other deadly helicopter accidents, raising concerns among aviation and safety experts. Calls are growing in the country for civil and military aviation authorities to uphold operating standards and strengthen safety regulations.

WNAM Monitoring: Sixteen people have been killed in an attack in northcentral Nigeria, where clashes between herders and farmers are common, the army said Sunday.
The attack occurred around midnight Saturday in the village of Mushu in the Plateau State, Captain Oya James told.
The region is on the dividing line between Nigeria’s mostly Muslim north and mainly Christian south and has for years struggled with ethnic and religious tensions.
It was not immediately clear what sparked the latest attack and who was responsible.
Security personnel were deployed to prevent any more clashes in the area, where tit-for-tat killings between herders, who are most often Muslim, and farmers, who are generally Christian, often spiral into village raids by heavily armed gangs.
State Governor Caleb Mutfwang condemned the latest attack as “barbaric, brutal and uncalled for” and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice, his spokesman, Gyang Bere, told reporters.

KANO: Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu ordered a thorough investigation into the incident in which 85 villagers were killed when the army accidentally bombed civilians who had gathered for a religious celebration in northwestern Kaduna state using drones meant to target rebels.

The incident occurred in Kurmin Biri village in Igabi Local Government Area on Sunday.

Tinubu called for calm while authorities look diligently into the mishap.

A statement by Ajuri Ngelale, spokesman for the president, described the incident as “very unfortunate,” and “painful.”

The president has also directed swift and comprehensive medical attention to surviving victims.

Also, The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said on Tuesday that, based on information from local authorities, 85 dead bodies have been buried so far, and the search is still ongoing.

According to the emergency agency, 53 seriously injured are in hospitals, receiving treatment.

The incident is the second such incident in recent years. In January 2017, a Nigerian Air Force jet mistakenly bombed a camp for displaced victims of terrorism in a remote community along the country’s border with Cameroon.