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Attacks: Catholic Church Shuts Schools, Hospitals In Benue

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The Catholic Diocese of Gboko, Benue State, has ordered the suspension of church institutions, including schools and hospitals, in Ihugh, Vandeikya Local Government Area, LGA, over repeated attacks, arson, burglary and alleged harassment of its personnel.

 

The affected institutions are St Winifred Secondary School, St Winifred Nursery and Primary School, St Thomas Hospital, including Salus Mind Care Center and its chaplaincy, and St Winifred Parish.

The Diocese also ordered the withdrawal of priests, Reverend Sisters, teachers, medical personnel and other workers from the institutions, effective October 12, 2026, until further notice.

Ihugh is the hometown of Governor Hyacinth Alia.

The decision was contained in a pastoral letter and decree signed by the Bishop, Most Rev. William Avenya, and the Diocesan Chancellor, Rev. Fr. Marcellinus Wende.

The Diocese said the decision followed repeated attacks, including the burning of St Winifred Secondary School students’ hostels on October 28, 2025; May 10; May 15; and October 11, 2026.

In the letter, it stated: “Over a considerable period, the Catholic institutions in Ihugh have suffered repeated disturbances, attacks and acts of destruction.

“Among these were the recent burning down of the students’ hostels of St Winifred Secondary School, Hugh, on October 28th, 2025; May 10th, 2026; May 15th, 2026; and October 11th, 2026, acts that have destroyed the shelter of young people entrusted to our care, wiped out the labour and sacrifices of many years, and placed the lives and safety of students, teachers, and staff in grave danger.”

It also cited persistent burglaries at St Winifred Parish and criminal incidents at St Thomas Hospital.

The Diocese recalled that during the hospital’s reopening on June 21, 2024, some residents allegedly displayed placards and chanted slogans demanding the withdrawal of the Reverend Sisters.

“The persistent burning down of St Winifred Secondary School students’ hostels was not an isolated event. The consistent burglary issues in St Winifred Parish, Ihugh, the repeated criminal incidents at St Thomas Hospital, Ihugh, and the hooliganism witnessed during the time of the reopening of St Thomas’ Hospital, Ihugh, on 21st June, 2024, wherein the people of Ihugh openly projected placards and chanting slogans that ‘They no longer want the Reverend Sisters to work in Ihugh’,” the letter stated.

It described the incidents as “a systemic pattern of hostility and destruction directed at church-owned properties, alongside arson and harassment.” Each incident has left behind fear, loss and uncertainty among those who serve and are served by the Church.”

Lamenting that its institutions, established to serve the public, had repeatedly been targeted, it said, “The Church exists to bring life. Our schools, hospital and parish in Ihugh were established for the good of all, irrespective of creed or origin. It is therefore a source of profound grief that works meant for the common good have repeatedly become targets.”

The Diocese said it had engaged the host community, traditional rulers, elders and security authorities in efforts to resolve the crisis.

“The Church does not take the path of withdrawal lightly, nor in haste. The Lord instructs us to be peacemakers, and we have laboured to be so. At every stage we sought dialogue rather than confrontation and reconciliation rather than recrimination.

“The Diocese has met with the host community, engaged the traditional rulers and elders of the land, and brought these grievances before the relevant civil and security authorities, all in the hope of finding a just and lasting peace.

“We have listened, we have appealed, and we have waited patiently. Sadly, these sincere efforts have not yielded the peace, security and guarantees that the continued presence of our institutions requires.”

The Diocese directed the withdrawal of all pastoral and other personnel from the institutions and warned that nobody could resume duties in its name in Ihugh without the Bishop’s written authorisation.

It said students would be assisted to continue their education in other Catholic schools, while patients at St Thomas Hospital would be referred to other health facilities.

The Diocese also declared Friday, October 23, 2026, a day of prayer and fasting for reconciliation. “We invite all the faithful of the Diocese to a season of earnest prayer and penance for the restoration of peace in Ihugh and in all our communities,” the letter stated.

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Police Kill Suspect, Recover Two Stolen Vehicles, Items In Ogun

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The Ogun State Police Command has killed a suspected armed robber and recovered two vehicles, a locally made pistol and several items believed to have been stolen during a raid in Ota, Ogun State.

 

The operation took place in the early hours of yesterday at Ijaba, Iyesi, Ota, following a distress call from a resident reporting suspected criminal activity.
According to a statement by the command’s spokesperson, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, operatives from the Onipanu Division, under the Ota Area Command, arrived at the scene at about 1.45 a.m. but came under gunfire from the suspected robbers.
The officers reportedly returned fire, killing one of the suspects, while other members of the gang escaped with gunshot injuries.
Babaseyi said a search of the area led to the recovery of a Nissan Almera and a Toyota Camry, alongside several items suspected to have been stolen.

The recovered property included HP and Dell laptops, a PlayStation console, four mobile phones, a Samsung television, a standing fan, a rechargeable radio, a Wi-Fi device, clothing, an OPay ATM card and other household items.
The police also recovered a locally made pistol, two live cartridges and seven spent cartridges from the deceased suspect.
Other items found at the scene included a Tecno mobile phone, three passport photographs, an MTN SIM pack, two National Identification Number (NIN) cards and an undisclosed amount of cash.

The police spokesperson said efforts were ongoing to track down the fleeing suspects, particularly those who might have sustained gunshot injuries.

He added that investigations were also underway to establish the owners of the recovered vehicles and property and determine whether they were connected to other criminal activities.

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Hijab Ban: MURIC Demands Suspension Of Law School Exams , Threatens Protests

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The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called for the suspension of examinations at all Nigerian Law School campuses following alleged harassment, intimidation and exclusion of female Muslim students wearing hijab from examination halls.

 

The Islamic human rights organisation also demanded an investigation into the incidents, which reportedly occurred during the final examinations for candidates seeking admission to the Nigerian Bar on Saturday, October 31, 2026.

MURIC warned that it would mobilise parents, Muslim youths and other stakeholders for peaceful protests across Law School campuses nationwide if its demands were not met.

The Nigerian Law School had not responded to the allegations in the statement at the time of writing.

The organisation’s position was contained in a press statement issued on Sunday by its Founder and Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

According to Akintola, several hijab-wearing female candidates were allegedly prevented from entering examination halls in different parts of the country because of their religious attire.

He said some candidates were reportedly made to stand outside examination halls for about an hour and were only allowed to enter after removing their hijabs.

“There was harassment and intimidation of hijab-wearing female Muslim students in some Law School examination halls across the country yesterday, Saturday, October 31, 2026,” Akintola said.

“Hijabites who came hoping to sit for their call-to-bar final examinations were disallowed from entering the examination halls. In some places, they were forced to remain standing outside for about one hour until they removed their hijabs before they were allowed to enter and start the examination.”

The MURIC director said the organisation received numerous telephone calls, text messages and online messages from distressed candidates, their parents and concerned Muslims during the incidents.

“While this was going on, our office was inundated with telephone calls, text messages and chats. We heard the cries of traumatised candidates, the lamentations of distressed parents hundreds of kilometres away from the examination centres and the agitation of concerned Muslims around the country,” he said.

Describing the alleged incidents as an infringement on the candidates’ rights, Akintola said the organisation strongly condemned what it considered an unjustifiable disruption of their educational and professional pursuits.

“MURIC strongly condemns the wanton disruption of the lawful educational pursuit of innocent Muslim ladies. It is crude, irrational and sadistic,” he said.

The organisation expressed particular concern that “it is the Law School, the bastion of law education and the centre of legal excellence, that is involved in the denigration of court pronouncements.”

He cited Section 38(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to manifest and propagate religious beliefs.

MURIC also referenced the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Lagos State Government & Ors v. Asiyat Abdulkareem, which it said affirmed that banning or restricting the hijab amounted to discrimination.

The organisation further argued that the alleged treatment of the candidates violated Section 42 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom from discrimination.

Akintola also cited Section 34(1)(a), which protects the dignity of the human person and prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.

“The forceful undressing of our daughters at Law School examination centres in Nigeria is an open contravention of Section 34(a), which upholds the dignity of the human person by declaring authoritatively, unequivocally and emphatically that no person shall be subject to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment,” he said.

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Police Rescue Six Abducted Farmers In Niger

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The police have rescued six farmers abducted by armed bandits in Mahangi village, near Pandogari, in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.

 

The victims were rescued during a joint security operation involving the police, military, Department of State Services, DSS, special hunters and local vigilantes.

The Niger State Police Command said security operatives tracked the suspected bandits to their hideout following the abduction of the farmers while working on their farms.

The rescued victims were taken to the police division for profiling before being reunited with their families, while the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Minna, commenced an investigation into the incident.

According to a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, the operation was among several security successes recorded by the Nigeria Police Force across six states within 48 hours.

In Zamfara State, he stated that police tactical teams, working with local vigilantes, rescued five elderly women abducted during an attack on a farm in Dansadau, Maru Local Government Area.

The attack, which occurred on October 29, reportedly left a 35-year-old farmer dead, while the women were abducted as they harvested beans.

The police said security operatives engaged the attackers in a gun duel, forcing them to abandon the victims and flee.

The five women were rescued unhurt, while bush-combing and tracking operations were ongoing to arrest the fleeing suspects.

In Kebbi State, joint security forces repelled an attack by suspected Lakurawa fighters on Ribah town in Danko Wasagu Local Government Area on October 30.

The attackers reportedly regrouped and launched an assault from different directions after security operatives foiled an earlier attempt to block Rambo Junction.

The security forces engaged the attackers and successfully repelled the assault.

The State Criminal Investigation Department, Birnin Kebbi, is investigating the incident.

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