Crime
Just In: Security Forces Clash With 240 Bandits Along Zamfara-Kebbi Border
Security forces comprising troops of Intervention Battalion 3 under the 8 Division of the Nigerian Army, the Mobile Police Force and the Air Component of Joint Task Force Operation FANSAN YAMMA are engaged in a fierce confrontation with a large group of armed bandits along the Zamfara-Kebbi border.
The bandits, estimated at about 240, reportedly emerged from the Sangeko Gap in Zamfara State before advancing towards Makuku town in Kebbi State.
Security sources said the armed group was moving on motorcycles and had split into three formations while advancing into the area.
The development has heightened tension in communities around the border, with some residents reportedly fleeing their homes for safer locations as security forces intensify efforts to contain the attackers.
The ongoing operation involves coordinated ground operations by troops and police personnel, backed by aerial support from the Air Component of Operation FANSAN YAMMA.
The security forces are working to prevent the bandits from gaining access to surrounding communities and disrupt their movement along the border axis.
The presence of such a large number of armed men has renewed security concerns among residents of communities close to the area of confrontation.
Residents have been urged to remain vigilant and comply with directives issued by security agencies as the operation continues.
The Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 8 Division, Nigerian Army/Sector 2, Operation FANSAN YAMMA, Lieutenant Colonel Olaniyi Osoba, confirmed the development to Daily Trust.
Osoba said the operation was still ongoing and that further details would be provided after its conclusion.
The latest confrontation comes amid sustained military operations across the North-West aimed at disrupting bandit networks, rescuing kidnapped victims and restoring security in communities affected by armed attacks.
Three persons were reportedly shot dead in separate incidents in Awka, the Anambra State capital, on Sunday, in attacks suspected to have been carried out by cultists.
The first incident occurred in the densely populated Amaenyi area of Awka, where two men were reportedly shot dead.
The attack triggered panic and a stampede, during which several people were said to have sustained injuries.
The second incident occurred on SM Okeke Street, where a popular comedian and town crier in Awka, Mr Aiza Nwosu, was shot dead by suspected cultists.
Sources said Nwosu was allegedly monitored and trailed by his assailants from his residence before they attacked him.
Nwosu was well known in Awka as a comedian and town crier. He usually carried out his duties with a Hilux truck fitted with loudspeakers, driving around the city while playing loud music and making public announcements.
According to reports by Daily Post, Nwosu was driving along SM Okeke Street with his music blaring when the assailants, who were reportedly trailing him in a Toyota Corolla with tinted windows, opened fire on him.
He reportedly died inside his vehicle while the music continued to play. The vehicle subsequently veered off the road and landed in a ditch, suggesting that he may have been caught completely unaware by the attack.
While residents who knew Nwosu described him as having no history of cult membership, some sources alleged that his son was a known member of the Vikings Confraternity.
Awka has for years been associated with violent clashes involving rival cult groups, with several lives reportedly lost in such confrontations.
The latest incidents have raised fears of a possible resurgence of cult-related violence in the city.
As of the time of filing this report, the Anambra State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement on the killings.
Residents have called for increased security surveillance and swift investigation to prevent further violence and identify those responsible for the attacks.
By Okey Maduforo, Awka
The Anambra Joint Task Force on Security has arrested nine suspected gunmen and recovered two vehicles, three firearms and other items during a stop-and-search operation in Isuofia, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The suspects, comprising seven males and two females, were arrested in the early hours of Friday, August 28, 2026, when security operatives intercepted two vehicles at a checkpoint in the community.
The operation was led by the Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP Austin Elaigwu, in collaboration with personnel of the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Army, Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigeria Immigration Service and operatives of the Agunechemba Security Outfit.
The vehicles, a custom-coloured Toyota Sienna and an ash-coloured Toyota RAV4, were subjected to a thorough search following their interception.
Security operatives subsequently recovered three AK-47 rifles, one pump-action gun, charms and other items considered relevant to the ongoing investigation.
The suspects and the recovered items were immediately taken into custody for questioning and further investigation.
During preliminary interrogation, the suspects reportedly claimed to be security operatives based in a neighbouring state.
However, they allegedly failed to provide satisfactory explanations regarding their identities, affiliations, possession of the firearms and the purpose of their movement into Anambra State.
The Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command, CP Nnanna Oji Ama, psc, mnips, commended the operatives for the successful operation.
He urged them to remain vigilant, noting that the recovery was the result of intelligence-led policing and effective stop-and-search operations.
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.
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