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India bans Islamist group, citing ‘terror links’

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India bans Islamist group, citing ‘terror links’

India banned an Islamist group and its affiliates for five years on Wednesday over alleged terrorism links, after a nationwide crackdown that saw hundreds of the organisation’s members arrested.

A government notice said the Popular Front of India (PFI) had been outlawed for its ties to extremist organisations, including the Islamic State group, and for violent attacks attributed to its members.

The PFI denies involvement in extremist activity and says it is the subject of a “witch hunt” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government.

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Police have arrested more than 300 PFI cadres in raids across the country since Friday.

A home affairs ministry statement announcing the ban outlined a laundry list of charges accusing the group of violent and subversive activities.

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Members had engaged in “cold-blooded killings of persons associated with organisations espousing other faiths, obtaining explosives to target prominent people and places and destruction of public property”, Wednesday’s notice said.

The ministry said PFI members had been responsible for at least 10 murders in southern India since 2016 and accused the group of “pursuing a secret agenda” to radicalise society and undermine democracy.

Hardline Hindu groups have long campaigned for a ban on PFI, which is estimated to have tens of thousands of members around India.

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READ ALSO: Mikel Obi officially retires from professional football

 

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Calls to outlaw the organisation have grown in recent months after several Muslim-led protests against the government.

The group was accused of organising street rallies against a state ban on the wearing of hijabs by Muslim school students in Karnataka, which resulted in violent confrontations between protesters and Hindu activists.

– Violent attacks –
Modi’s government has been accused of clamping down on dissent and promoting discriminatory policies toward the country’s 200-million-strong Muslim minority since coming to power in 2014.

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Actions against the PFI were “a conscious attempt by the Modi government to spread Islamophobia among the public and demonise Muslims as a community”, CPIML Liberation, a communist political party in India, wrote on Twitter.

But the PFI has been implicated in violent attacks before, with 13 members jailed in 2015 for hacking off the hand of a university lecturer accused of insulting the Prophet Mohammed.

Wednesday’s ministry notice said some PFI activists had joined Islamic State and participated in terror activities in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

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It also linked the PFI to Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), an extremist group that carried out several bombing attacks in India’s eastern neighbour in 2005 that left at least 28 dead.

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Crime

Court remands 2 over alleged attempted murder

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Court discharges man accused of burning father’s house in Abuja

An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Wednesday, remanded two persons, Olaitan Fasasi and Kehinde Tobiloba in a correctional facility over alleged attempted murder.

Fasasi, 40, and Tobiloba, 26, whose addresses were not provided, are being charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and membership of a secret society.

The Magistrate, Mr L.A Owolabi, did not take the plea of the defendants for want of jurisdiction.

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Owolabi directed the police to forward the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice.

He thereafter adjourned the case until May 31 for mention.

The Prosecutor, Josephine Ikhayere, told the court that the defendants committed the offences at about 5.02p.m on Feb. 15, at Mushin, Lagos.

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She said that Fasasi, Tobiloba and others now at large, attempted to commit murder by shooting at a resident, Alfred Ademola.

“They armed themselves with a locally made gun. They belong to Eiye Confraternity, a group proscribed by law,”, she said.

Ikhayere said that the offences contravened Sections 230(1) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2012.

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He said that the actions of the defendants also contravened Section 2(3)(a)(b)(c)(d) of the unlawful societies and Cultism Law of Lagos State Law.

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Crime

Man jailed 3 months for stealing mobile phone

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An Area Court in Jos, on Tuesday, sentenced one Jeptha John, to three months imprisonment for stealing a Redmi mobile phone valued at N165, 000.

The judge, Shawomi Bokkos, sentenced the John after he pleaded guilty to the offence.

The judge, however, gave the convict an option to pay N20, 000 fine and N50, 000 restitution to the complainant.

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Bokkos said that if the convict defaulted in paying the restitution, three months should be added to his sentence to make it six months imprisonment.

Earlier, the police prosecutor, Insp Monday Dabit, told the court that the case was reported at the B Division Police Station, Jos, on Dec.  1, 2024, by Ms Nerat Danjuma.

He said that the complainant alleged that the defendant trespassed into her house and stole her mobile phone valued at N165, 000.

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The prosecutor further told the court that the offence contravened the Plateau State Penal Code, Law of Northern Nigeria.

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Crime

Army apprehends 15 over suspected oil theft in Niger Delta

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Troops of the Nigerian army have apprehended no fewer than 15 persons over suspected oil theft and illegal oil bunkering activities in the Niger Delta.

Lt.-Col. Danjuma Danjuma, the Spokesman, Nigerian Army, 6 Division, Port Harcourt, said in a statement on Monday that the operations were carried out in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers recently.

Danjuma said that the army apprehended 15 persons, dismantled 32 artisanal refineries and seized 14 boats during operations.

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He further said that during the operations, conducted between Jan. 6 and 12, the troops confiscated no fewer than 60,000 litres of various petroleum products

The spokesman said that the operations were part of a broader collaborative effort with other security agencies to combat oil theft in the Niger Delta region.

Danjuma said that the raid commenced in Bille, Degema Local Government Area, and Rivers, where soldiers dismantled seven illegal refining sites, confiscated 20,000 litres of crude oil, and destroyed two boats.

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“We also deactivated ten illegal refineries, several crude oil cooking pots, and receivers, and recovered about 19,000 litres of stolen petroleum products along the Imo River.

“In Odagwa, Etche, our troops intercepted three boats carrying about 12,000 litres of stolen crude oil and arrested three suspects in the process.

“Similar operations were carried out in Abiama, Asa, Obuzor, Okoloma, Ozaa, Ukwa, and Oyigbo” he added.

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He stated that the soldiers advanced to Nkisa in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers, where they confiscated 1,600 litres of crude oil and 1,200 litres adulterated diesel.

Danjuma said that along Ndoni Road, the troops intercepted a Toyota van transporting an estimated 1,200 litres of stolen condensate.

The spokesman said that in Buguma, Asari-Toru, Rivers, the troops dismantled two illegal refineries, seized 1,500 litres of stolen crude oil, and apprehended five suspects.

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“In Baberegbene, Southern Ijaw, Bayelsa, our soldiers dismantled an illegal artisanal refinery and intercepted a wooden boat carrying no fewer than 1,500 litres of stolen

“Similarly, an illegal refining site containing an unquantified quantity of stolen petroleum products was deactivated in Emago-Kugbo and Oluasiri communities in Nembe, Bayelsa.

“The operations continued in Akwa Ibom and Delta, where troops maintained a strong presence and effectively denied economic saboteurs the liberty to operate,” he said.

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