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Two friends stab another to death in Abaji
By Abubakar Sadiq Isah
Two friends, whose names could not be obtained by our reporter, allegedly stabbed one of their friends, simply identified as Taye, to death on Thursday in Abaji town of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
A resident of the area, who preferred anonymity, said the two suspects allegedly invited the deceased to a shop in the area, but a misunderstanding ensued and one of them brought out a dagger and stabbed him.
He said Taye’s corpse was abandoned in a locked shop, and nobody knew about it until neighbours started perceiving bad odour. He added that when the shop door was forcefully opened, the remains of Taye were already decomposing.
“In fact, the incident happened on Thursday, and by Saturday, the decomposing body had polluted the whole area. It was the bad odour that made neighbours to suspect that something must have gone wrong,” he said.
Our reporter learnt that one of the suspects, who owns a veterinary drugs shop escaped when the police arrived the scene; but he submitted himself to the police when his mother was arrested.
City News gathered that the deceased, who was later buried at Anguwar Abattoir, was alleged to be a member of a gang of kidnappers who specialise in invading herders’ camps to kidnap Fulani children and demand for ransom.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the area, Mr. Sulu Gambari, were not successful as his phone could not connect.
When contacted via telephone, the Commissioner of Police, FCT command, Mr. Wilson Inalegwu, confirmed the incident.
He said the two suspects rode on the deceased’s motorcycle to a Fulani camp at a neighbouring Gulu village in Niger State to kidnap a Fulani boy; but luck ran out on them as some vigilantes went after them and they fled and abandoned the motorcycle.
“The man who was killed was also a member of their gang. It was his motorcycle they used for the operation; hence he threatened to expose them if they failed to produce it. That was why they invited him and stabbed him to death inside the shop. But thank God the two suspects have been arrested and they have confessed,” he said.
FCT traditional rulers back family planning
By Judd-Leonard Okafor
Traditional rulers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have pledged to support awareness campaigns and access to family planning in their communities.
Speaking with the Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), the Ona of Abaji, Alhaji Adamu Yunusa, said they would also lend support to routine immunisation, child health and nutrition amidst growing concerns about pneumonia and diarrhea.
“Before now, we advised our men to allow their wives and children to attend antenatal clinics and immunise their children. Now we will include family planning,” the Ona of Abaji said through his representative, Abubakar Amin.
“We will continue to admonish our people and enlighten them on what is best for their health,” he added.
FOMWAN, which is leading community mobilisation under the Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFaH), also wants traditional rulers to support nationwide adoption of the National Strategic Plan on Nutrition, along with a dedicated budget line for nutrition and timely release of funding, according to FOMWAN programme director, Farida Yusuf.
“Traditional rulers are highly respected and chosen by their communities because of their track records. As such, PACFaH considers them the right target group to reach communities as respected custodians of community norms and values in Nigeria.
“FOMWAN advocates adequate funding for family planning and national budget line to implement family planning blueprint,” Yusuf said.
The association also wants the adoption of Amoxicillin dispersible tablets as first-line treatment for pneumonia and scale-up of zinc and oral rehydration salts to treat diarrhea, alongside domestic budgeting to pay for vaccines.
‘Why I dropped my baby in Kubwa orphanage’
By Emma Elekwa
The mother of a missing two-year-old girl recently found in an orphanage in Kubwa, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has said that she handed the baby over to the orphanage to protect her from her father’s maltreatment.
City News had, last Thursday, reported that the girl, who was found by a family friend while on immunisation exercise in the home, was ‘dumped’ by the mother to give her the liberty to fend for herself as the baby constituted a hindrance to her.
The mother, simply identified as Omowunmi, who reported at the police station less than 24hours of the publication, however, said she was forced to leave the house with the baby as she could no longer endure the husband’s excesses.
City News gathered from a police source that the husband, who admitted to the wife’s allegations, had not lived up to his avowed responsibilities, a condition the wife gave before she would return back home.
The source said he was mandated to enter into agreement with his wife to turn a new leaf, including catering for the needs of the family and desist from battering his wife.
Reacting, the Kubwa Divisional Police Officer, Chief Superintendent Nurruddeen Sabo, said both parents and the girl had since been reunited, adding, however, that her husband had written an undertaking to abide by the conditions spelt out by his wife.