Category Archives: Yola

Nigeria: daughter accuses Adamawa traditional ruler of attempted ritual murder, bribing Police Commissioner (2017 article)

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Abamawa State in Nigeria was in the spotlight during my recents postings. For this reasons I consider it appropriate to post the following article, though dating from 2017.

Presenting the article – which was originally published by Sahara Reporters – here does not imply that I accept its contents without criticism or reticence. It’s no small thing, the accusation leveled at her father by the daughter of the traditional ruler is very serious. It is worth noting though that Sahara Reporters is a credible source of information. For that reason I have no hesitation presenting the article below. Hence read it and judge for yourself.

Adamawa State is located in the North East geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and one of Nigeria’s largest states, it is the eight largest in land mass ( with a total land mass of 36,917 km2. It is Nigeria thirteenth or fourteenth least populous state with an estimated population of 6 – 7 million people. Adamawa State is mainly inhabited by Fulani people. Other ethnic groups in Adamawa State are the Mumuye, Higi, Kapsiki, Chamba, Margi (Marghi), Hausa, Kilba, Gude, Wurkum, Jukun, and Bata peoples. An estimated 100 indigenous ethnic groups live in this northeastern state which borders Cameroon.

Adamawa State shares its eastern border with Cameroon

Adamawa State is also religiously very diverse. About 50% of the population is Muslim and 40% is Christian while the remaining 10% are adherents of traditional ethnic religions. 
(Source: Wikipedia.)
(FVDK)

Daughter Accuses Adamawa Traditional Ruler Of Attempted Ritual Murder, Bribing Police Commissioner

Published: March 26, 2017
By: Sahara Reporters, New York

Ms. Umar claimed that her siblings – Murtala, Aisha, Abubakar and Aliyu – were hired by her father to carry out the murder.

Fadimatu Umar, daughter of the district head of Umar Ardo in Yola, Adamawa State, has claimed that her father bribed the Police Commissioner in charge of Force Criminal Investigations Department (FCID) in Abuja to cover up a case of an attempt to kill her.

She alleged that her father planned to use her corpse for a ritual. Ms. Umar claimed that her siblings – Murtala, Aisha, Abubakar and Aliyu – were hired by her father to carry out the murder.

Her siblings, she told SaharaReporters, attacked her in front of the National Identity Card Management Office in Yola, leaving her with a badly damaged arm, which may have to be amputated, according to doctors treating her.

The victim, 28, disclosed that less than a year ago, her stepmother, Bintu, died under mysterious circumstances, which she alleged was the handiwork of her father. The woman’s death, Ms. Umar added, convinced her that she would be the next target.

After hearing noises coming from the front gate of her home, Ms. Umar jumped through her window in fear of her life. She alleged that she was pursued by her siblings, who were armed until they caught up with her in front of the National Identity Card Management Office.

Ms. Umar said she reported the attack to the police, who subsequently arrested Aisha and Abubakar. But Aliyu Umar Ardo, an Air Force officer, and Muitala, who works with Intels Services, escaped arrest by fleeing.                   

The Air Force officer, she said, later emerged from hiding and wanted to shoot her with a pistol, a fate she escaped through the intervention of family friends. She maintained that Aliyu and Murtala have continued with their plot to kill her in an effort to end the case of attempted ritual killing she reported to the police.

Ms. Umar then fled Yola and petitioned the FCID in Abuja. The petition led to the arrest of Murtala in Calabar.  

Their father, along with influential people in Adamawa State, used their connections to free Murtala, who proceeded to bribe Mr. Jonah Mava, Police Commissioner in charge of the FCID, to dump the case.    

“They asked us to come back the next day by 10:00 a.m. But when I got there at 10:00 a.m., they didn’t allow me to go inside to see the Commissioner. But when I saw the Investigative Police Officer (IPO) in charge of the matter, he told me that Murtala had been around and that I should go in to see the commissioner,” she said.

Having received encouragement from the IPO, Ms. Umar barged into the Commissioner’s office, where she saw Murtala handing an envelope to the Commissioner of Police.       

“The Police Commissioner quickly stuffed it in his drawer and said we should come back at noon,” she said.                      

Ms. Umar said she suspected that the envelope contained a bribe from her father. Her suspicion became stronger when, a few days later, the Police Commissioner told her to forget the matter because it was a family affair.                               

“My mind is not at peace because they are still after my life and I cannot step into Adamawa State,” she told SaharaReporters.  

She also disclosed that her case with the family would be brought to court in Adamawa State on April 6, but she has been warned not to appear in court because she would be abducted.    

“I have been given privileged information that my father has also paid some men of the Directorate of State Security and the Police to look out for me and arrest me either at the airport or anywhere near te court.”, Ms. Umar revealed.

Source: Daughter Accuses Adamawa Traditional Ruler Of Attempted Ritual Murder, Bribing Police Commissioner

Nigeria: three suspects accused of beheading lady in Adamawa State arrested

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As announced yesterday here follows more information on the reported beheading of a lady for ritual purposes which occurred in Adamawa State capital Yola on January 18. The victim was a woman who was identified by her ex-husband, Mr Auwal Garba. He testified that he divorced the victim in December 2023 after about six years of marriage.

The police has arrested a number of suspects including three employees of the hotel where the crime took place.

The ugly crime triggered the authorities to announce an ultimatum forcing all hotel owners in Adamawa State to install close-circuit television (CCTV) cameras for a better security surveillance in their hotels.

Adamawa State is located in the North East geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 
The Federal Republic of Nigeria is divided into six geopolitical zones commonly called zones. 
(webmaster FVDK).

Ritual killing: Adamawa hoteliers directed to install CCTV

Adamawa State Deputy Governor Professor Kaletapwa George Farauta

Published: January 22, 2024
By: Nuruddeen M. Abdallah – 21st Century Chronicle, Nigeria

Adamawa on Monday gave hoteliers operating in the state a six-week ultimatum to install Close-Circuit Television cameras in their facilities for effective security surveillance and safety of patrons.

The state’s deputy governor, Dr Kaleptapwa Farauta issued the ultimatum at an emergency security meeting she held with hotel proprietors in Adamawa.

She warned that failure to unconditionally comply with the directive would be appropriately sanctioned.

Responding, Mr Samuel Adwata, chairman of the association of hoteliers in Adamawa assured that the directive would be complied with speedily.

Monday’s ultimatum followed Thursday’s beheading of a middle-aged divorcee in a hotel room in Yola by a suspected ritualist.

Police in Adamawa have already arrested some suspects in connection with the beheading of the lady.

Also arrested were three employees of the hotel who were on duty at the time of the incident.

The suspected ritualist allegedly took his victim to the hotel where he was lodged as a guest, and thereafter beheaded her and left the scene with her decapitated head.

Confirming the arrests on Friday, a police spokesman in Adamawa, SP Suleiman Yahaya Nguroje, said: “The command has arrested three employees of the hotel and recovered drugs and telephone handset of the lady.

“The drug and handset were recovered at the scene of the crime.

The lady’s ex-husband, Mr Auwal Garba, identified the remains of his estranged wife at a hospital on Friday.

Garba, who confirmed the identity of the deceased to the police, said she was his ex-wife, whom he married about six years ago.

He said the union produced one child but due to some irreconcilable differences, he divorced the lady in December 2023.

Source: Ritual killing: Adamawa hoteliers directed to install CCTV

More:

Three suspects accused of beheading lady in Adamawa State arrested

Screenshot, YouTube – to watch the video, please click here

Published: January 22, 2024
By: YouTube

Source: Three Suspects Accused Of Beheading Lady In Adamawa State Arrested

Nigeria: woman beheaded for ritualistic purposes in Adamawa State

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It was only a side-remark in another article, focusing the beheading of a woman by criminal gunman in Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria. Recently, on January 18, another woman was beheaded for ‘money ritual’ by a man who had lured her into an hotel in Yola, Adamawa State capital.

In my next post I will provide more details of this suspected ritual murder, very likely a case of ‘money ritual’, as these crimes for ritualistic purposes are called in this West African country.

Ritual murders occur frequently in Adamawa State. Recently I have been focusing on ‘money rituals’ in this state in the North East geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria – see my previous posts (e.g. January 16, 2024)

The Federal Republic of Nigeria is divided into six geopolitical zones commonly called zones. 
(webmaster FVDK)

Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones

Nigeria: Woman beheaded for ritualistic purposes in Adamawa State

Published: January 25, 2024
By: Damilare Famuyiwa – Pulse, Nigeria

(….) In a similar development, the Adamawa Police Command disclosed the killing of a 20-year-old girl in a hotel in the state.

Operatives of the Adamawa Police Command arrested some suspects in connection with the beheading of the lady, who was suspected to have been killed for ritual in one of the hotels in Yola, the state capital.

It was gathered that a suspected ritualist on Thursday, January 18, 2024, around 9:30 pm, took the victim to the hotel where he was lodged as a guest, and thereafter beheaded her and left the scene with her decapitated head.

Source: Gunmen behead woman in Akwa Ibom

Nigeria: Ritual Killings – over 20 children missing in Adamawa State (2018 article)

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Published: September 9, 2018
By: Daji Sani  (ThisDay)

Yola — More than 20 children have been reported missing in Adamawa State in the last three months, THISDAY has learnt.

Investigation revealed that the state had been receiving several complaints over missing children, which had caused panic among parents in the state. Some residents, who spoke privately with THISDAY, alleged that the incessant abduction of children may not be unconnected with the political activities in the state.

One of the residents alleged that the abducted children “are used by some politicians to gain spiritual powers and oust any opposition that stand on their way come 2019.” Another resident from Yola North Local Government Area, Mr. Usman Aliyu lamented that over 20 children “have been reported missing following their mysterious disappearance and have not returned home to their parents.”

He said almost every week, advertisements “are place in the media over missing children and nobody knows their whereabouts. This rampant missing of children have become a serious threats to children’s upbringing in the state”.

“Our wards cannot longer move freely due to the political activities because it is believed that the children are missing because some politicians are using them for spiritual powers to win the coming 2019 general elections,” he alleged.

Another source revealed that some people “are heartless to the point that they are kidnapping children for rituals. The security agencies in the state need to beef up security. They should step up operation to arrest those behind the heinous crime.

“Following the development, the State Police Command has alerted the general public over the incessant disappearance of children saying this has become a serious threat to the citizens of the state. The command in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Mr. Habibu Musa urged the residents to be alert and be security conscious due to the rising case of abduction. It urged parents and residents “to be security conscious and be watchful over the movement of their wards. Those related to those that convey their wards to school to and fro.”

It urged parents to warn their wards from free rides and receiving gifts from strangers. However the police did not mention the numbers of missing children in its press release.

Source: Ritual Killings: Over 20 Children Missing in Adamawa

Nigeria: Ritual killers on rampage in Adamawa State (2014 article)

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Published: April 15, 2014
By: BluePrint (Nigeria)

The residents of Yola, the Adamawa state capital, now sleep with their eyes open as ritual killers are on the prowl; this followed the discovery of the corpse of an 11-year-old boy, Master Umar Saleh, in Rumde Baru ward in Yola North local government area of the state.
The residents have decried the increase in ritual activities, saying that the frequency with which mutilated dead bodies were found was alarming.

The corpse which was semi-concealed in a polythene sack was discovered by a passerby who quickly raised alarm.
Some residents said they believed that the corpse might have been dumped for about three days as it had completely decomposed.
The discovery of the dead body of Umar Saleh, whose eyes, tongue, nose, ears and genitals were severed, has ignited apprehension as many residents said the “trend is becoming rampant despite emergency rule clamped on the state.”
Father of the victim, Malam Sale Usman, told newsmen that the family had been looking for the victim for five days following his failure to return home after he accompanied his little sister to the popular Jambutu Motor Park where she sells food.

“The family has waited with baited breadth for the return of Umar which never occurred as we only found his mutilated body later,” he said.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Adamawa state Command, DSP Usman Abubakar, confirmed the development, saying that the police were doing all they could to get to the root of the matter.

Source: Ritual killers on rampage in Adamawa