Tag: Banditry

“Nigeria is failing on security” – Obasanjo warns; backs foreign intervention

Aminu Imam
OBJ on failing security

…Tells FG to stop negotiating with terrorists Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has delivered one of his most forceful indictments yet of the Federal Government’s handling of insecurity, declaring that Nigeria’s persistent inability to protect its citizens now justifies seeking help from the international community. Speaking on Friday at the Plateau State Unity Christmas Carol and Praise Festival in Jos, the former president said the scale and frequency of killings, kidnappings and terror attacks show that the country’s security system has “failed woefully”, leaving citizens vulnerable and fearful. “Insecurity has been…

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Escalating Insecurity: “Banditry, terrorism in Northern Nigeria are self-inflicted” — ACF Chair

Aminu Imam
ACF Chair on escalating insecurity

…Says ‘It’s time to declare a war situation’ The Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Board of Trustees, (BoT), Bashir Ɗalhatu, has asked the Federal Government to declare a war situation in Nigeria in view of the unrelenting insecurity in the country. The ACF leader, who was answering questions during a television programme on Friday, stressed that the North as a region was overwhelmed by banditry and terrorism. “It is time for the Federal Government to declare a war situation,” he said as the government’s renewed onslaught against bandits…

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Bandits abduct 7 in fresh night raid on FCT community

Aminu Imam
FCT bandits abduction

Exactly one week after a police officer was shot dead in the Guto area of Bwari, bandits have launched yet another violent attack on the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), abducting six young girls and a 16-year-old boy during a night raid on Gidan-Bijimi, a settlement in Kawu ward on the fringes of Bwari Area Council. Kawu shares a boundary with Kaduna State, and lies close to the Gidan-Dogo and Kweti forests – areas long regarded as transit routes and hideouts for criminal gangs operating along the FCT–Kaduna corridor. Gidan-Bijimi itself…

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Kano: 10 kidnapped, as bandits shift operations after Katsina peace deal

Aminu Imam
Kano kidnapping

Armed bandits on Monday night abducted 10 people during coordinated attacks on Biresawa and Tsundu villages in Tsanyawa local government area of Kano State, heightening fears that criminal gangs are relocating their activities to previously safer border communities. The attackers, who reportedly came on foot around 10 p.m., stormed Biresawa and took five residents before moving to Tsundu, where they seized another five. Victims were mostly women and girls. Kabiru Usman, a relative of some of the abducted victims in Biresawa, said his wife, 17-year-old daughter, his brother’s wife, and…

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Kwara: Bandits kill 2 farmers, abduct 4 in fresh attack

Aminu Imam
Kwara fresh attack

‎Suspected bandits have launched another attack in Kwara State, abducting four rice farmers in Bokungi village, Edu local government area. This came barely 24 hours after gunmen attacked a church in Eruku, Ekiti LGA, killed two people and abducted some others. ‎ ‎Sources said that the latest incident occurred on Wednesday evening while the victims were working on their rice farms during the peak of the harvest season. ‎ ‎According to a community source, the attackers arrived suddenly and surrounded the farmers as they were gathering their harvested rice. ‎“It…

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“How I led 600 bandits to surrender” – Sheikh Gumi

Aminu Imam
Gumion peace efforts

…Defends peace efforts Popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Gumi has slammed critics calling for his arrest over his ongoing commentary on banditry and national security. In a statement on Facebook yesterday, Gumi described his opponents as “spineless, irresponsible and unpatriotic imbecilic people”, arguing that they prefer outrage over truth. “ARREST HIM!!! These are the only words some spineless, irresponsible and unpatriotic imbecilic people can utter,” he wrote, defending his mediation efforts with bandits aimed at securing peace. Sheikh Gumi recalled a January 2021 intervention in Sabon Garin Yadi forest, Kaduna State,…

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Kogi: Bandits abduct 6 Defence ministry Directors enroute Abuja

Aminu Imam
Kogi bandits abduction

Panic has gripped the Federal Civil Service following the abduction of six Directors of the Federal Ministry of Defence by suspected gunmen along the Kabba–Lokoja highway. It was gathered that they were abducted on Monday, November 10, 2025. The senior officers, who were travelling from Lagos to Abuja for a Directorate-level promotion examination, were intercepted by the assailants, in what sources described as a well-coordinated ambush. The incident, which has sent shockwaves through the Defence Ministry and the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, (ASCSN), has sparked renewed concerns…

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Over 200 terrorists killed, as Boko Haram, ISWAP clash

Aminu Imam
N'East under seige

…As NAF launches nationwide airstrikes on insurgents A major escalation in Nigeria’s counter-terrorism front has seen the deaths of over 200 militants following violent clashes between rival jihadist groups in the North-East, even as the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) intensified precision airstrikes against insurgents and bandits across several northern states. Security and intelligence sources confirmed on Monday that the fierce battle between Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters erupted in Dogon-Chiku, along the shores of Lake Chad, on Sunday. The confrontation, driven by long-standing ideological and…

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Kano: Bandits abduct 5 nursing mothers, steal 50 cows in 2 LGAs

Aminu Imam
Kano bandits abduction

Residents of the Faruruwa community in the Shanono local government area of Kano State have been soaked in tension following a late-night attack by motorcycle-riding bandits on Sunday. During this attack, five nursing mothers were abducted, and approximately 50 cows, along with other livestock, were stolen. The Chairman of the Faruruwa community, Yahya Bagobiri, shared this information with the press in Kano and expressed deep concern over the ongoing violence, despite the presence of heavily armed military personnel and other security operatives in the area. According to Bagobiri, the attackers…

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Bandits stop harvest in Zamfara, force Sokoto farmers to pay ‘harvest taxes’

Aminu Imam
Bandits stop harvest

Farmers in parts of Zamfara and Sokoto States have raised alarm over increasing levies and intimidation by armed bandits, who they say are imposing conditions on communities for this year’s harvest season. Residents told newsmen that despite favourable rainfall in recent years, widespread attacks have turned farmlands into conflict zones, putting farmers in constant fear and threatening food supplies across northern Nigeria. Villagers reported that bandits have introduced what they describe as “harvest taxes,” demanding payments in cash or agricultural produce before allowing farmers to access or harvest their fields.…

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