By Suleiman Yakubu

Red Cross distributes cash to victims of flood disasters in Niger By Uthman Yawa-Siraja
The Nigerian Red Cross Society, in collaboration with the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), has distributed cash amounting to over N39 million to the approximately 1,250 victims of the 2022 flood disaster in Niger State.
The head of the cash distribution programme in Niger State and an ICT officer from the National Headquarters in Abuja, Mr. Zakariyau Ahmed Balaji, who disclosed this while speaking during the cash distribution exercise held in Lavun, Wushishi, and Shiroro local government areas of the state over the weekend, said about 500 beneficiaries were taken from Lavun and Wushishi LGAs, while the remaining 250 beneficiaries were drawn from Shiroro local government, respectively.
Mr. Zakariyau Ahmed Balaji said the Red Cross movement in Nigeria deemed it fit in their usual manner of supporting victims of natural disasters and was in Niger State again to support the victims of 2022 flood disasters.
He said the distribution exercise has been conducted peacefully, devoid of any fracas, across the three local government areas that were worst affected by the flood, according to their records and reports, and that each of the beneficiaries collected N30,500.
The head of the cash transfer program in the state announced that the beneficiaries from the three local government areas were captured and registered since last year by the Red Cross, based on their assessment and data collection from the people affected by the flood in the state.
Also, while addressing the beneficiaries before the cash distribution, the Niger State Branch Secretary of Red Cross, Mr. Gideon Adamu Paiko, emphasised that the people of Niger State will forever remain grateful to the Red Cross movement in Nigeria for what they have been doing to the people of the state.
The state branch secretary opined that Redcross has been supporting and assisting the people of the state for so many years in every aspect of human endeavors and hoped that it would be sustained.
Mr. Gideon Adamu Paiko maintained that the cash distribution to the victims of the 2022 flood disaster will go a long way towards cushioning the effects of the damage done to them by the flood in the state.
He thanked the Red Cross movement in Nigeria for what he described as an unprecedented and wonderful gesture to the people of Niger State and advised the beneficiaries to judiciously make use of the money given to them to better their lives.
He then urged the state government to complement the efforts of the Nigerian Red Cross Society and come up with some support programmes with a view to alleviating the sufferings of the victims.
Responding, some of the beneficiaries from the three local government areas affected by the flood appreciated and acknowledged the tremendous financial support and assistance they have received from the Red Cross movement and prayed to God to reward them, uplift the organisation, and protect every member of the Red Cross in their day-to-day activities.
The beneficiaries then assured the Red Cross of judicious utilization of the money given to them.

By Suleiman Yakubu

Court convicts man for illegal possession of firearms   By Uthman Yawa-Siraja
Niger State Command of the Department of State Service (DSS) has secured the conviction of one Usman Abubakar by Minna Chief Magistrate Court Number One.
He was arraigned by the operatives of the secret security agency for being in illegal possession of an automatic pump-action gun and four cartridges.
The defendant was brought to the court amidst tight security by the operatives of the DSS and arraigned by the head of the legal unit of the command, Mallam Abdulmalik Sani, a legal practitioner.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) made available in court by the head of the legal unit and obtained by our reporter, it was disclosed that the defendant was arraigned on one count of being in possession of a magnum pump action rifle without lawful authority.
The charge sheet marked MN/02/2024 read in part: "That you Usman Abubakar, adult, male, Bororo of Beji Town, in Bosso Local Government Area of Niger State, that on December 12, 2023, at Paiko, within the jurisdiction of this court, committed a criminal act to wit: you had in your possession without lawful authority two (2) magnum pump action rifles with registration numbers 18-0223 and 18-0254, respectively, contrary to sections 9 (1) and (2) and punishable under section 27 (I) (b) (111) of the firearms Act, Cap F28".
The legal officer told the court that the defendant was arrested by a joint patrol team along Minna Paiko Road with the gun concealed in a bag, along with his brother, who was now on the run.
He further told the court that the defendant had confessed during interrogation that he bought the gun from Toto in Nasarawa State at the rate of six hundred thousand naira (N600,000) for self-defence as a result of the incessant armed banditry attacks on their community.
The Presiding Chief Magistrate Hajiya Imma Mohammed, after taking the plea of the defendant, who pleaded for leniency that he bought the gun to defend himself as a result of the activities of armed bandits and was begging the court to temper justice with mercy, then convicted him and reserved the sentence till January 17, 2024, for the final judgement.