Tag: Zamfara state

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Bandits Kill DPO, Police Sergeant And Vigilante In Zamfara

SP Kazeem Raheem, a Divisional Police Officer, in Maru town, headquarters of Maru local government area of Zamfara state has been killed by bandits during a gun duel.

Raheem was killed alongside a vigilante identified as Shehu Chuka and a police sergeant, Rabiu Bagobiri, said to be an orderly to a former chairman of Maru LGA.

A resident, who craved anonymity, told Daily Trust that the bandits had invaded the town on Saturday night, March 4, 2023, to kidnap a businessman identified as Alhaji Iliyasu.

The gunmen had earlier abducted his brother who was reportedly freed after ransom was paid. They came again to kidnap him but he managed to escape, while they took his wife.

Upon getting the information, the DPO mobilized his men and some local vigilantes to repel the bandits but unfortunately lost his life in the gunfight.

“It was a terrible experience. I woke up at the sound of heavy gunfire around 2am. Maru town has been under constant attack by these criminals, several people were kidnapped in the past one year.” the source said.

Spokesperson of the State Police Command, SP Mohammed Shehu, who confirmed the incident to Channels Television, said police authorities are currently in Maru for an on-the-spot assessment.

“We are currently in Maru, I will get back to you when we return to Gusau,” he added.

Meanwhile, another source from the local government said that an unspecified number of residents were also abducted in the attack.

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2023 Elections

#NigeriaElections2023: Tinubu Defeats Atiku, Obi In Zamfara

Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, has emerged winner of the presidential election in Zamfara State.

Tinubu polled 298,396 votes to win the state.

The collation officer for the Zamfara State presidential election, Prof. Kashim Shehu, announced the results in Gusau, the state capital, in the early hours of Tuesday.

According to him, Tinubu won 12 out of 14 local government areas in the state, while the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Atiku Abubakar, won two.

Atiku polled 193,978 votes while Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party scored 4,044 votes with Peter Obi of the Labour Party polling 1,660 votes.

Shehu said votes in 167 polling units were cancelled due to over-voting, insecurity and disruptions by thugs.

The total number of registered voters in the state was 1,879,308, while 527,137 of them were accredited for the poll.

A total of 502,923 valid votes were recorded and 16,508 votes, bringing the total votes cast to 519,431.

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2023 Elections

Two Arrested In Zamfara For Vote Buying

Two alleged vote buyers have been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, led by Commander of the EFCC, Aliyu Yusuf, on Saturday, February 25, in Zamfara state.

A statement from the commission says while Mustapha Abubakar was arrested with the sum of N107,000 (One Hundred and Seven Thousand Naira) only in one thousand naira denomination and tickets specially designed for voters as evidence for voting his party before collection of the money, Isa Abdullahi was arrested for buying votes with wrappers concealed in the boot and back seat of a Peugeot 406 saloon.

The commission says the suspects and the recovered items are in the custody of the Commission as investigation continues.

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2023 Elections

Zamfara: Election Continues Till 11:30pm In Gusau Due To Late Arrival Of Materials

The electoral materials arrived late at Tudun Wada Ward in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, leading to voters staying late to exercise their franchise.

Dailypost reports that up to about 1:30 pm on Saturday, voters remained stranded as polling materials did not arrive and security operatives were absent.

It was also observed that the late arrival of materials to many polling units constituted a major problem to the electoral process.

The former All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship aspirant during the 2019 general elections, Hon. Muktar Shehu Idris, whose polling unit was affected, remained at home waiting for the arrival of the materials.

Most of the stranded voters at the affected centres who expressed dissatisfaction with the situation blamed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for what they described as poor electoral arrangement.

This medium reports that at about 11:30 pm on Saturday, elections were still going on at Sambo Secondary School and other polling units in Gusau due to the late arrival of election materials.

The elections were inconclusive in most polling units due to electoral violence in Zamfara Central Senatorial Zone.

Though the elections started very peacefully due to the presence of military and security operatives later, the situation changed as the whole security arrangements were altered.

But in the Tsafe Local Government Area of the state, the elections were peaceful, and the electorate conducted themselves in an orderly manner.

Addressing newsmen shortly after casting his vote, the APC senatorial candidate for Zamfara Central zone, Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa described the elections as perfect, commending INEC and the electorate.

Reacting to the elections, Hon. Ikra Aliyu Bilbis also said that the elections in the local government area were conducted peacefully without any rancour, pointing out that the elections started and ended as scheduled.