Crime
150 kidnapped as gunmen storm Sokoto Community
Bandits have abducted over 150 persons and rustled over 1,000 cattle in some villages in Gobir Emirate of Sokoto State
The incident happened few days after the death in kidnappers’ den, of the Emir of Gobir, Alhaji Isa Muhammad Bawa, who was also the District Head of Gatawa.
The monarch was, on July 29, kidnapped alongside his son and six others on the Sokoto-Sabon Birni Road.
In a viral video, the deceased, whose hands and legs were tied, was seen appealing to the Sokoto State government, the Sultanate Council, his relatives and friends to help pay the ransom demanded by the kidnappers.
The district head had said that the bandits set a deadline for the payment of the ransom, failure of which they would kill him.
Hundreds of youths in the area ultimately staged protests after the killing of the district head, forcing the state government to impose a curfew on Sabon Birni.
Confirming the latest abductions, Professor Bello Bada of the Department of English, Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, said it was unfortunate that bandits had returned to their dastardly operations in the area just a few days after the death of the district head.
He said: “The most painful thing about it is that some important people in the area could access the telephone numbers of the bandits and could even have conversations with them. Why? It means the bandits are known.
“People in the area go for negotiation with bandits; it means they know where they are. Why do bandits go to markets freely and sell their cows in the area ?
“Why is it that in the area about 1,000 cows were carted away by bandits? Do the cows have wings to fly? What about our intelligence? How did the bandits pass through villages and towns without being noticed?
“They are taking the rustled cattle into the bush while at the same time, residents of some communities within the district are inside the same bush mining for gold. No, something is wrong. We should tell ourselves the truth. We have to sit down and address this problem for the future of our children”, the professor said.
A member of the Sokoto State House of Assembly representing Sabon Birni (North), Aminu Boza, said a total of 151 people were abducted between Tsamaye and Sabon Birni.
“A day after the death of Sarkin Gobir, the bandits attacked Tsamaye village again, killing some people and abducting unspecified others.
They also attacked Yanfaruna village and abducted 22 people and they went to the next village and abducted 11 people.
“So, a total of 192 people have been abducted and they are still in captivity.
“Besides the abduction of people, we have lost over 20,000 hectares of land to the bandits. They stopped our people from cultivating the land for several years now. Over 92 per cent of our wealth has been wasted by these bandits,” he said.
Boza alleged that there were no security personnel in most of the banditry-prone areas in Sabon Birni, which include Kwanar Maharba, Turtsawa, Unguwar Lalle, Tagirke and Kwanar Tambazawa.
He said: “Kwanar Maharba is the most dangerous spot among all the spots I have mentioned. Banditry operation is taking place in this particular spot almost daily. Some of our people had to change their route through Niger Republic whenever they are going to Sokoto because it is safer. We don’t have a single security checkpoint along that road.
“The locations of most of the bandits’ leaders are known. Bello Turji, for instance, is residing in Fakai and from Fakai to Shinkafi is a distance of less than three kilometers. Halilu is residing in Tsububu village and Jummo Baki in Gangara village.
“Three days ago, I met the Sokoto State deputy governor and together we are making efforts for the deployment of an additional 1,200 soldiers to Sokoto State and Sabon Birni will get additional security personnel in the next one week”, the lawmaker said.
He said the deployment of military personnel to the areas would reduce banditry significantly.
The lawmaker appealed to the federal government to listen to the plight of the residents of Sabon Birni.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Sokoto State Command, SP Ahmad Rufa’i, said police had not received a report on such abductions, but promised to find out from Sabon Birni Divisional Office.
Daily Trust
This is as the agency said terrorist financiers were opening bank accounts in women’s names as well as using phone numbers for mobile banking or account alerts that are not registered to the account holder or the true beneficiary.
The disclosures are contained in the NFIU’s 2025 Annual Report, obtained by The PUNCH from a top official.
According to the report, the crowdfunding scheme involves foreign-based facilitators using social media platforms to solicit donations under the guise of humanitarian relief or educational support, before moving the funds through multiple layers to terrorist operatives in Nigeria.
The NFIU said hundreds of sympathisers were typically encouraged to make relatively small donations, ranging from $50 to $500, through PayPal pages or conventional bank accounts, with the amounts deliberately kept low enough to evade automated anti-money laundering alerts.
“The following is a case study on Crowdfunding Network identified during the year: A foreign-based facilitator runs social-media campaigns claiming humanitarian relief or educational support and uses encrypted apps (Telegram, Signal) to share links to convincing PayPal pages or standard bank accounts.
“Hundreds of sympathiser donors contribute $50–$500 each, amounts small enough to avoid most automated AML alerts,” the report read.
The funds are subsequently pooled into a “master account” controlled by a senior member of the group living legally abroad.
“When the pool reaches a threshold, that account becomes the hub for onward movement,” the report stated.
The NFIU said the funds were then fragmented into dozens of smaller payments and transferred through International Money Transfer Operators and remittance applications to a network of money mules in Nigeria.
It identified students, small-business owners and relatives among those used as mules, noting that the strategy was designed to avoid reporting thresholds and obscure the origin and destination of the funds.
“Rather than sending one large transfer, the senior member fractures the funds and sends dozens of sub-threshold payments through IMTOs and remittance apps to a network of money mules in Nigeria; students, small-business owners, or relatives, avoiding reporting triggers.
“Upon receipt, the money was either converted to cash, used to purchase dual-use items such as motorcycles, fertilisers and satellite internet equipment, or transferred through mobile banking channels to logistics managers and field operatives,” it added.
The report described the final stage as the “integration” of the funds into terrorist operational financing.
The Unit also identified the use of gender-based proxy accounts as another emerging terrorist financing technique, with terrorists opening bank accounts in women’s names while male commanders or logistics managers secretly control them.
“Terrorist financiers are opening bank accounts in women’s names while male commanders and logistics managers secretly control them.
“They exploit cultural norms that make women less likely to be suspected by authorities, using wives, sisters, or female associates as fronts to distance illicit funds from the true operatives.
“This tactic functions as identity laundering: women’s accounts are managed by men who hold ATM cards, mobile-banking credentials, and PINs, while the women often remain unaware of the transactions and volumes,” the report stated.
The report further revealed that terrorist facilitators were using telephone numbers that were not registered to the account holders or actual beneficiaries for mobile banking and transaction alerts.
It said pre-registered SIM cards, numbers registered to deceased persons and SIMs linked to gender-based proxies were being used to break the connection between bank accounts, SIM cards and Bank Verification Numbers.
“Terrorist facilitators use phone numbers for mobile banking or account alerts that are not registered to the account holder or the true beneficiary.
“They bypass the security link between SIM cards and BVNs by using pre-registered SIMs, SIMs registered to deceased people, or SIMs tied to gender-based proxies. This severs the audit trail: when a transaction is flagged, investigators trace the phone to an unrelated person, letting the real facilitator stay anonymous and continue operations,” it stated.
The NFIU also uncovered sophisticated methods of disguising terrorist transactions through detailed or coded narrations.
It said cells, particularly those linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province, used precise transaction descriptions to maintain what analysts described as an internal accounting system.
According to the report, frequent logistics-related payments with detailed narrations were often sent from a single source to multiple recipients, reflecting a structured financial system within the terrorist network.
“Terrorist cells, particularly those linked to ISWAP, routinely use precise, professional-sounding transaction narrations to maintain internal accounting. Operating like “shadow states” with strict bureaucratic controls, they require detailed descriptions so field commanders can justify expenses to central financial controllers. Although truthful narrations appear counterintuitive, they create an internal audit trail; analysts repeatedly observe high-frequency, logistics-related payments with accurate narrations sent from a single source to multiple recipients,” the report said.
However, the NFIU said some facilitators used innocuous words, secret codes and alphanumeric strings in transaction descriptions, sometimes switching between languages, to conceal the purpose of payments and evade automated bank filters.
“Transaction descriptions employ innocuous words, secret codes, or alphanumeric strings to conceal intent. Facilitators use this coded language, often switching languages to evade banks’ automated keyword filters that flag terms like ‘Jihad,’ ‘Arms,’ or ‘Boko.’
“This practice obscures the true purpose of transfers, preventing detection and enabling continued financing,” it said.
The NFIU said its risk and crime analysis during the year identified an increasingly interconnected threat landscape involving financial crime, technology and cross-border activity.
It noted that fraud remained a dominant predicate offence, with growing cases of Ponzi schemes, fraudulent crowdfunding arrangements, cryptocurrency-enabled investment scams and hacking-related fraud.
The Unit said the schemes increasingly exploited fintech onboarding gaps, including tiered accounts requiring minimal identification, while digital platforms were used to rapidly recruit victims and move funds.
The report also highlighted persistent vulnerabilities in public sector financial management, including the diversion of state and local government funds through accounts belonging to finance officers and associated third parties.
It identified procurement processes and cash transactions as significant risk areas, saying the latter complicated audit trails and efforts to trace illicit assets.
The NFIU said its findings were translated into targeted advisories, executive alerts and strategic intelligence products to support competent authorities, reporting entities and policy responses.
Six suspected members of a gang of gunmen terrorising Amiyi Community and neighbouring towns in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State have been killed by a joint security task force.
The gunmen met their end after security operatives, acting on intelligence gathered over several days, tracked them to their camp around the River Niger creek.
The operation involved personnel of the Nigeria Police Force Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu; Department of State Services (DSS); 302 Artillery Regiment, Onitsha; Nigerian Navy personnel from Ogbaru; and Agunachamba operatives from the community.
The security team trekked for about four hours through difficult terrain and dense palm forest before reaching the suspected criminal camp.
On sighting the operatives, the gunmen opened fire, triggering a prolonged gun battle.
At the end of the encounter, six suspected members of the group were neutralised, while others fled, some reportedly with gunshot wounds.
Two pump-action guns and charms were recovered from the camps, while structures believed to have been used by the gang were subsequently dismantled.
However, the operation came at a cost, as one security operative was killed and another injured after an explosive device suspected to have been planted in the area detonated.
The injured operative is receiving treatment in a hospital.
The Anambra State Commissioner of Police, CP Nnanna Oji Ama, commended the security personnel and community-based operatives for their courage and resilience, describing the operation as a demonstration of the importance of intelligence sharing, inter-agency cooperation and community support in tackling violent crime.
He commiserated with the family and colleagues of the fallen operative and wished the injured officer a speedy recovery.
The Commissioner assured residents that security agencies would sustain intelligence-led operations to dismantle criminal camps, recover illegal weapons and prevent armed groups from establishing operational bases across Anambra State.
Operatives of the Enugu State Police Command have rescued three victims of abduction and recovered their Lexus RX350, two locally made firearms and ammunition following a hot pursuit of suspected kidnappers in Enugu.
The operation was carried out by operatives of the Anti-Cultism Sub-Unit of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), with support from members of the Neighbourhood Watch Group and local residents.
According to a statement by the Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Daniel Ndukwe, the operation followed credible intelligence received at about 1:30 a.m. on August 18, 2026, while the operatives were conducting crime-prevention patrols along the Port Harcourt Expressway.
The information concerned the carjacking and abduction of occupants of a Lexus RX350 by armed hoodlums in the Independence Layout area of Enugu.
The operatives immediately launched a hot pursuit which led to Hillview Road, Independence Layout, where the suspects abandoned the vehicle and firearms before fleeing into the area.
The three victims were subsequently rescued unharmed and taken to safety with the assistance of Neighbourhood Watch members and other residents.
Police said they recovered one locally fabricated Beretta-like pistol loaded with five rounds of 9mm live ammunition, one locally made cut-to-size firearm and one live cartridge.
Other items recovered were a pair of hand gloves, a ski mask and a mobile phone.
The Command said investigation had been intensified and a manhunt launched for the fleeing suspects, with efforts ongoing to identify and apprehend them, recover additional exhibits and establish their involvement in the crime.
The Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command, CP Mamman Bitrus Giwa, commended the police operatives, Neighbourhood Watch members and residents for their swift and coordinated response.
Giwa reiterated the Command’s commitment to intelligence-led and community-supported operations against kidnapping, armed robbery, car snatching and other violent crimes.
He also urged residents to remain vigilant and provide the police with timely and credible information that could assist in preventing and solving crimes.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) has arrested a suspect for allegedly swindling 16 job seekers within Enugu metropolis.
The Commandant of NSCDC Enugu State Command, Dr Elijah Willie, disclosed this while briefing journalists on the arrest and investigation on Monday.
Willie said that the suspect collected a total of N6,139,000 from the ignorant and unsuspecting job seekers.
He said that the suspect, Mrs Serah Onyemerela, had been evading arrest by many security agencies until a resourceful officer of the command tracked her down and brought her to the Command.
The Commandant said that the suspect collected the sum of N306,000 from each of the 16 job seekers in the alleged job racketeering or job scam,which totalled N6,139,000.
“On August 12 and 18, 2026, Mrs Love Nnenna Onyema and Mrs Chidimma Ubah, the complainants, reported that Mrs Serah Uchechukwu Onyemerela, the suspect, defrauded them of N770,000 and N424,500 respectively.
“This amount to a total of N1,194,500 from both. However, the ones collected among the remaining people that made up the 16 job seekers at N306,000 each totalled N6,139,000.
“The suspect allegedly promised to assist the complainants in securing employment at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH).
“However, there is evidence indicating a lack of genuine intent, as there are no current job vacancies available, and the suspect has failed to refund the amounts as promised,” he said.
Willie said that on Aug. 17, 2026, the suspect was summoned, tracked and subsequently detained due to her inability to fulfil the conditions of an administrative bail application facilitated by the NSCDC Enugu State Command.
“The suspect has since confessed to the charges of job fraud and obtaining money under false pretences.
“The funds were transferred to a personnel account linked to Mrs Onyemerela Serah Uchechukwu,” he said.
The Commandant also warned job seekers and people seeking for help in any form to ensure no one places them in a condition to pay first before rendering a help.
Willie called on Nigerians, enlightened or not, to see the red flag that any help being offered even in prayer houses and money payment comes before the job or help is “total fraud”.
He said, “Our people should get wise like people in advance world and stop falling prey to swindlers and wicked people who are bent on taking the little they have from them.
“However, the NSCDC has a mandate to take away these unscrupulous elements out of the society for Nigerians to experience peace as well as the trust and bond in the society continue.”
The suspect would be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) soon as the NSCDC conclude its preliminary investigations on the matter.
A police inspector has been killed and another officer seriously injured after gunmen allegedly ambushed a joint security team in Jigawa State.
The incident occurred on Saturday, August 22, 2026, after security personnel responded to reports of farmland destruction in Gwaram Local Government Area.
According to a security report obtained by Zagazola Makama, the attack took place at about 3pm in a forested area.
The joint team comprised personnel from Gwaram and Fagam police divisions, the 35 Police Mobile Force and local security outfits. Members of the Vigilance and Community Response Unit (VCRU) and Operation Salama also participated in the operation.
The report said the team had been patrolling the area following recurring complaints involving suspected herders and farmland destruction.
The personnel reportedly came under attack after entering the area, with the assailants said to have used arrows.
Inspector Bukar Wakili, attached to Gwaram Division, was reportedly struck in the face and sustained serious injuries.
Another officer, Inspector Mohammed Shafiu of the VCRU in Dutse, was also injured during the incident.
Both officers were taken to a hospital, where Shafiu was confirmed dead, according to the report.
Bukar was later referred to the Malam Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital for further medical treatment.
The identities and affiliation of the attackers have not been independently confirmed, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Additional tactical teams were subsequently deployed to reinforce the security personnel and support efforts to identify those responsible.
Police have opened an investigation into the incident and maintained a security presence in the affected area.
The attack comes amid recurring disputes involving farmers and herders in parts of northern Nigeria, where disagreements over farmland and grazing routes can sometimes escalate into violence.
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