Nigeria: At least 100 killed in gun attack in Benue state village, Amnesty International claims
The human rights group's branch in Nigeria said the attack occurred between Friday evening and Saturday morning in Yelewata, a community in the Guma area of Benue state.
"Many families were locked up and burnt inside their bedrooms," the group said in a post on X. "So many bodies were burnt beyond recognition."
It said hundreds of people were injured and were without adequate medical care, while dozens of others were missing.
A police spokesperson in Benue confirmed that an attack took place in Yelewata but did not specify how many people had died.
Amnesty noted in a statement that there had been an "alarming escalation of attacks across Benue state where gunmen have been on a killing spree with utter impunity".
"The Nigerian authorities' failure to stem the violence is costing people's lives and livelihoods, and without immediate action many more lives may be lost," it added.
Last month, gunmen, believed to be herders, killed at least 20 people in the Gwer West area of Benue.
In April, at least 40 people were killed in the neighbouring state of Plateau.
Benue is in Nigeria's 'middle belt', a region where the majority Muslim north meets the largely Christian south.
Attacks are common in Nigeria's northern regions, where local herders and farmers often clash over limited access to land and water.
Farmers accuse the herders, mostly of Fulani origin, of grazing their livestock on their farms and destroying their produce.
The herders insist that the lands are grazing routes that were first backed by law in 1965, five years after the country gained its independence.
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Sky News
32 minutes ago
- Sky News
Security personnel shot at Palestinians at Gaza aid distribution centre, claims ex-guard
A former US soldier who was employed to work within the Gaza aid system approved by Israel has said he saw security personnel shoot at Palestinians at a distribution centre. The unnamed American man, who served for 25 years in the US army, has said how he witnessed force being used against unarmed innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip. "There is no fixing this, this needs to be put an end to," he said in a video aired by Israeli free-to-air TV station Channel 12. It comes as the United Nations criticised an aid distribution scheme run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) that has been supplying aid in the Strip since late May, claiming it is a "sadistic death trap" where "snipers open fire randomly on crowds". More than 1,000 people have been reported killed while trying to receive food aid since the end of May, according to the UN, with the territory facing a starvation crisis. The unnamed American said as Palestinians were finishing getting their aid, security personnel "began shooting in their direction, shooting at them, shooting at their feet… to get them to leave". In another incident, he said a man was on his hands and knees picking up individual needles when security personnel wanted Palestinians to leave the site. He said a contractor "sprayed an entire can of pepper spray into his face - that's lethal". He also recounted a third incident, describing how he was standing next to two women when a contractor threw a stun grenade and it landed between him and the women. "This thing hit her and she just drops, just lifeless, collapsed to the ground. It looked like she had been killed". 2:55 He said it was at that point that he decided he could no longer be part of the distribution system. Earlier this month, the Associated Press (AP) reported that it spoke anonymously to two US contractors guarding aid distribution sites who said their colleagues regularly threw stun grenades and pepper spray in the direction of the Palestinians. They said the security staff hired were often unqualified, unvetted, heavily armed and seemed to have an open licence to do whatever they wished, the AP reported. Videos provided by one of the contractors and taken at the sites showed hundreds of Palestinians crowded between metal gates, jostling for aid amid the sound of bullets and stun grenades and the sting of pepper spray, the agency added. The unnamed American man speaking to Channel 12 said the centres are in remote areas. "The sites were not set up in locations, nor were they set up in a way that was conducive to distributing or delivering humanitarian aid to a needy population," he said. Residents are not allowed there by car and so people are on foot, he added. "Most of them don't have shoes, no water, going through active warzone areas." 4:10 He also said that if the United Nations method of aid distribution had the support, security and coordination that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is getting, then the UN process would be very successful. UNRWA, the UN relief agency for Gaza, has criticised the US-backed aid distribution scheme run by GHF that has been supplying aid since late May, when Israel, which controls supplies into the territory, lifted an 11-week blockade. UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said: "The so-called 'GHF' distribution scheme is a sadistic death trap. Snipers open fire randomly on crowds as if they are given a licence to kill." 2:00 The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies and largely bypasses a UN-led system that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led militants loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the allegation. GHF said in a statement: "This is a disgruntled former contractor who was terminated for misconduct a month ago. GHF launched an immediate investigation as soon as these allegations were brought to our attention. Based on time-stamped video footage and witness statements, we have concluded that the claims made are categorically false. "At no point were civilians under fire at a GHF distribution site. The gunfire heard in the video was confirmed to have originated from the IDF, which was outside the immediate vicinity of the GHF site. "The gunfire was not directed at individuals, and no one was shot or injured. We take the safety and security of our operational sites extremely seriously. When behaviour falls short of our standards, we take action. The contractor seen shouting in the video is no longer part of our operations. "We remain focused on our core mission - delivering food to the people of Gaza in a safe, direct, and uninterrupted manner, as we have done since launching operations on 27 May. Since then, we have distributed nearly 85 million meals to residents of the Gaza Strip."
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Datti-Ahmed and Abure reconciliation - wetin be di next tin for Peter Obi?
New tins wey be like say drama wan start don begin happun for Labour Party. Di vice presidential candidate of di Labour Party for di 2023 election, Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, bin attend one National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting wit Julius Abure wia e say e wan reconcile all parties. Baba-Ahmed say im oga wey be di Labour Party presidential candidate for 2023, Peter Obi dey aware of im presence to di Abure-led NEC meeting. Dis na afta several kasala don rock di Labour Party since di 2023 elections bin end wit different factions from Abure and also Senator Nenadi Usman. Na di different factions within di Labour Party di Vice presidential candidate Baba-Ahmed bin tok say im wan bring togeda. During di meeting, Datti show support for di Abure-led leadership of di Labour party - e tok say im mission na to bring evribodi for di party togeda. "Labour Party no be party to waka away from. To di best of our knowledge Peter Obi na still member of Labour Party. Dis party no be one to abandon and I wish to reconcile all parties " Datti also tok say im and im oga, Obi dey solidly togeda and di tok about coalition no be threat as dem no be member of any political party wey dem form. Howeva, di Labour Party chairman Abure say anybodi get right to join oda political parties but e gatz dey according to di constitution. "Evri Nigerian get di right to belong to any political party of dia choice. Anyone wey feel say dem wan dey wit any group, na dem get di choice but di constitution of di party dey clear say you no fit belong to two political parties at di same time." Obi and Abure no be padi padi for now, sake of di different kasala wey dey rock di party. Meanwhile, Senator Nenadi Usman wey also dey lay claim as di Interim National Chairman of Labour Party, say di decision of Datti dey personal to am. According to di statement by Ken Eluma Asogwa, Senior Special Adviser on Media, to Nenadi, e allege say di court no recognise Abure as Labour Party chairman, but rather, na she be di chairman of di party. Although dis na part of di wahala wey di labour Party dey face, Senator Nenadi say e no dey right for Datti to refer to Abure as di party chairman, and dat evri member of di Labour Party gatz follow wetin di court rule. "While di party respect di right of Dr. Baba-Ahmed and oda members to hold personal views, e dey important to rememba say di acceptance of di judgements of di Supreme Court no be mata of choice but e dey compulsory." Senator Nenadi say e good say Datti wan reconcile all parties back to di Labour Party but e gatz dey according to di 'respect for di rule of law and existing legal realities.' Di gbas-gbos for Labour Party no be today e just start. For 4 September 2024, one faction of LP hold NEC meeting for Umuahia, di Abia State capital, wia dem announce madam Usman and 28 odas as membas of di new caretaker committee wey go handle di affairs of di party. Meanwhile, anoda National Convention bin don happun bifor for Nnewi, Anambra State for March 2024 wia dem put Julius Abure to remain as di party chairman. Di mata later go court, and still, both factions dey claim say na dem be di chairman of di party. And even Peter Obi no too show full support for wetin dey happun for di party. For July 2025, Peter Obi say e dey ready for coalition wey go always put Nigerians first for all dia decisions. Even as Labour Party give am 48-hours make e resign from di party sake of im decision, Obi say to join coalition na deep reflection for am and e go do evritin wey go move di kontri forward. How Obi and Datti become 2023 flagbearer for LP Peter Obi and Datti Baba-Ahmed na Labour Party candidate for 2023 elections, and since den, dia mata dey enat each oda. Labour party reveal Datti as Peter Obi running mate for Friday, 9 July, 2022, bifor di presidential election. Senator Datti come from a very popular family wey comot from Zaria, Kaduna State inside northwest Nigeria, and na part of wetin make am bring am on board be dat. Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed follow BBC tok for one interview wia e say di reason why e accept to be Peter Obi running mate na sake of say dem get di same principle. Dat time Baba-Ahmed, say e decide to join Labour Party becos of im stand on corruption. "Di main reason why I decide to run with Peter Obi na sake of say we wan rescue Nigeria." E tok dat time. As at dis period, Peter Obi neva react to Datti decision to support one faction of di party and e neva also tok anytin about Labour Party decision ontop coalition mata.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Chilling moment phone snatcher leaps from car & stabs aristocrat's footballer grandson to death in savage robbery
THIS is the chilling moment a phone thief jumped from a car and stabbed an aristocrat's footballer grandson to death. Shocking CCTV footage showed Oguzcan Dereli, 27, pull up next to his victim on October 18 last year. 7 7 7 Abdul-Latif Pouget, 20, had been sitting on a moped near Farringdon station, in London, before the brutal attack at around 9.30pm. Dereli can be seen leaping out of a blue Ford Focus estate armed with a machete. Pouget attempts to ride away but Dereli knocks him off his bike and knifes him multiple times. The victim, known as Abz, was in critical condition for three days before he sadly succumbed to his injuries. The horror had taken just 13 seconds to unfold. Abz was the grandson of Baron Bouget, and his great-grandfather had been banker George de Vere Drummond, godson of King George VI. The Pouget family also has links to Chateau Pouget, a winery in the Margaux appellation of Bordeaux, France. The 20-year-old was a talented footballer and played on the left wing for Zaza FC in the Barnet Sunday Football League, the Old Bailey heard. Cannabis dealer Dereli denied murder but was today found guilty by a jury. The conviction is the latest on a long list, with 39 previous on his criminal record. He was sentenced to 18 months in 2018 for a string of phone thefts in London. Abz's brother Badruddin, delivered a moving victim impact statement in court. He addressed the defendant in the dock and said: "Mr Dereli, when Abz was nine you had your first conviction. "When Abz was collecting medals you were collecting bank cards and snatching phones from strangers. You were caught hiding under a mattress." 7 7 7 The heartbroken brother described his beloved sibling as "a young man who, unlike you, was loved for who he was, not feared for what he might do." "I hope that justice might speak for Abz now since you never let him speak again," he added. The victim's devastated mother, Kawsar Pouget, also paid tribute to her "kind, respectful, polite and humble" son. "He was a talented and gifted footballer who was a role model to those younger than him. He was young intelligent and full of promise," she added. "He bought warmth and laughter to every room. His murder shattered the natural order of things and has broken something deep within us. "Every member of the family carries this loss. Our family gatherings now taken place at the graveside." Prosecutors argued Dereli had been trying to steal Abz's phone at the time. But the defendant told the court his victim had wrongly accused him of robbery and he was acting in self-defence after a confrontation ensued. Prosecuting, Danny Robinson, told the court Abz was still sat on his moped when Dereli came at him with a machete. "He struck him with the machete and then stabbed him with it to his right thigh. The stab wound severed an artery causing instant massive blood loss and Mr Pouget collapsed on the pavement," he told the court. Abz tragically died in hospital three days later at 11.15am on October 21. Police detained Dereli at the Easy Hotel on October 19, where he was staying with a woman. The court heard his girlfriend had given birth shortly before the murder, but Dereli had not met his baby because he was "scared". Cops were unable to locate the murder weapon but arrested Dereli on October 20. The court heard his family of eleven were Kurdish asylum seekers who all lived in a three bedroomed council flat. His father was unemployed and his mother was too ill to work. Dereli, of Alexander Road, Holloway, denied but was convicted of murder and having an offensive weapon. Judge Sarah Whitehouse said upon sentencing: "I am not satisfied this was a murder carried out in the circumstances of a robbery. "We shall probably never know why you decided to get out of your car and run over and stab Mr Pouget." But the judge added there had been rumours of a disagreement over a debt. "Some of the rumours were that you and Mr Pouget had an altercation that very evening in which he had got the better of you and your friends had encouraged you to go out and seek revenge," continued the judge. "I am satisfied you had formed the intention to cause him really serious bodily harm when you stopped and got out of your car at speed, carrying that machete. "Your actions caused incalculable distress to Abdul-Latif Pouget's family." Detective Chief Inspector Lucie Card, who led the Met's investigation, said: "My thoughts and that of my team remain with Abdul's family, a much loved brother, friend and neighbour. "A young man has tragically died in a senseless and brutal way. I can only hope that this sentence can go some way in providing a sense of justice to Abdul's family." 7
