Judge kidnapped in Nigeria and guard killed

Justice Joy Uwanna, a distinguished high court judge in Nigeria, was kidnapped while returning from a court session on Monday night in southern Akwa Ibom state.

The incident occurred along Uyo-Okoboin in Oron town, where unidentified gunmen ambushed the judge's vehicle.

Tragically, the assailants not only kidnapped Justice Uwanna but also fatally shot her police guard during the abduction. The incident unfolded as the gunmen opened fire, targeting the judge's security detail before swiftly taking Justice Uwanna and her driver away.

The police spokesperson in Akwa Ibom state, Odiko Macdon, termed the incident as "unfortunate" and confirmed that security forces are actively investigating the matter.

As of now, no group has claimed responsibility for the abduction. However, it's noteworthy that criminal gangs frequently engage in abductions for ransom in certain regions of Nigeria.

The abduction of Justice Joy Uwanna highlights the ongoing security challenges in the country, prompting intensified efforts by law enforcement agencies to address and prevent such incidents.

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Gunmen kill four soldiers, kidnap two South Koreans in ambush in southern Nigeria

At least four Nigerian soldiers were killed while two South Koreans were abducted during an attack by gunmen in Nigeria’s oil-rich southern Rivers state, authorities said.

The gunmen ambushed a convoy escorting the Koreans on a work trip in the Ahoada East council area, resulting in a shootout, Maj. Jonah Danjuma, an army spokesman, said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Troops are currently combing the general area to fish out the perpetrators of this dastardly act. Additionally, efforts are ongoing to ensure that the unaccounted oil workers are found,” Danjuma said.

Abductions for ransom are common in parts of Nigeria, but it has been especially widespread in Rivers and other parts of the oil-rich Niger Delta region where many foreign companies in the oil and engineering sectors operate. The region also struggles with high poverty and hunger despite its natural resources.

Hostages are usually released after the payment of large ransoms, though security forces in the past have succeeded in freeing some.

Danjuma urged locals to provide any intelligence that would help in making arrests.

By Chinedu Asadu, Reuters 

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Armed men abduct 8 in Nigeria

Gunmen kidnapped at least eight people in an attack on the Dan Honu community in Nigeria's northern Kaduna state, residents said on Thursday.

Kidnapping for ransom is rife in northwest Nigeria where armed gangs, often referred to locally as bandits, have targeted schools, villages and travellers, making it unsafe to travel by road or to farm in some areas.

Kaduna police spokesperson Mansur Hassan said the police are investigating the incident, which occurred late Tuesday in Chikum local government area of the state.

Mohammed Danjuma, a resident who was spared, told Reuters about 16 people were taken but eight managed to get away.

"As they were busy trying to break into my apartment, one of the vigilantes in the community fired a shot into the air, which made the bandits uncomfortable and left," he said.

Malam Suleiman, another resident who was kidnapped, managed to escape while being led into the bushes. His teenage sons were taken by the bandits.

Attacks in northern Nigeria are part of widespread insecurity in the country that include a 14-year Islamist insurgency in the northeast and deadly clashes between farmers and herders in the central region. 

By Garba Muhammad, Reuters

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Media in Nigeria reported that nearly 100 people were abducted in Zamfara state, in the northwestern part of the country. Bandits are said to have raided four villages, where they kidnapped residents for allegedly failing to pay protection levies imposed on the communities.

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Dozens kidnapped by motorcycle 'bandits' in Nigeria

At least 100 people have been abducted by gunmen in Nigeria's northwest, residents have said.

Locals told the BBC that armed men on motorcycles stormed villages in Zamfara state.

The residents were kidnapped after the villages failed to pay a "tax" imposed on them by the gunmen, witnesses said.

In recent years, kidnapping for ransom has become rife in north-western Nigeria.

Armed gangs, referred to locally as bandits, target villages, schools, and travellers, demanding millions of naira in ransom.

According to the Reuters news agency, a local village head said one resident was killed in Friday's attack.

The BBC heard from a resident from the village of Mutunji, who said he was abducted by the gunmen but managed to escape.

"We are trying to collect the money... but suddenly the bandits came in and robbed people. They took more than 100 people - most of them were women and young people," the resident said.

Locals told the BBC the gunmen's leader is named "Damana".

They said Damana controls most of the region in the absence of state security forces.

"The terrorists are in control of the area - they send us to the forest to work as agricultural labourers, and when we come back they come into the town to eat meat, tea and bottled goods without paying," one villager complained.

Nigeria faces multiple security challenges: the jihadist insurgency in the north, deadly clashes between animal herders and farmers, a separatist insurgency in the southeast as well as militants in the Niger Delta demanding a greater share of oil profits.

President Bola Tinubu, who took office in May, has yet to detail how he will tackle the insecurity. During his election campaign, Mr Tinubu's office acknowledged the challenge, touting his experience as governor of north-eastern Borno state, home to many Islamist militant groups and the Boko Haram insurgency.

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According to the Food and Agricultural Organization, as many as 26 million Nigerians could face severe hunger by next year. The UN agency says several issues, but mainly insecurity, contribute to the problem. Experts have called on the government to address these concerns to safeguard food production.

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At least seven people are reported to have been killed and several others kidnapped by suspected armed bandits in Zamfara state.

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Suspected Boko Haram kills 15 farmers in northeast Nigeria

At least 15 rice farmers were killed and several others feared abducted in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state after suspected Boko Haram insurgents attacked three villages, a local farmers' leader said on Monday.

The attack occurred in the villages of Koshebe, Karkut, and Bulabulin in the Mafa local government area in the state, about 15 kilometres from the capital Maiduguri, Mohammed Haruna, secretary of the Zabarmari Rice Farmers Association, told Reuters.

The Borno police spokesperson did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on the attack, which happened on Sunday.

Haruna said the Islamists stormed the villages on motorcycles and attacked the farmers who were harvesting crops from their rice fields.

"They did not use guns to kill them, instead they used cutlasses and knives to stab them to death, while others were beheaded," Haruna said.

He said 15 farmers were confirmed killed in the attack, adding that some managed to escape. The number of those missing is still unknown.

The attack is the latest in a series of assaults by Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria. The group has been waging a 14-year insurgency in the region aimed at establishing an Islamic caliphate there.

At least 40 people were killed in the northeastern Yobe state last week, the first major Boko Haram attack in the state in 18 months.

Last week, Nigerian lawmakers approved a supplementary budget that includes provisions for defence and security.

President Bola Tinubu, preoccupied with fixing the economy, has yet to outline how he plans to tackle insurgency in the north and widespread insecurity across the country.

By Ahmed Kingimi, Reuters

14 students abducted in Zamfara, Nigeria rescued

Security forces have rescued 14 of at least 20 students abducted from a university in northwestern Nigeria and are searching for the remaining captives, school authorities say.

Gunmen attacked the school in Zamfara state’s Bungudu district last week and fled with the students and some workers in the first mass school abduction in Nigeria since President Bola Tinubu took office in May.

The 14 students from the Federal University Gusau were rescued with two other people, a statement from the university said on Monday without providing details about when they were freed or the nature of the rescue operation.

“The sad and unfortunate incident has indeed thrown the University community into serious tension and apprehension,” the statement said, adding that security forces were “doing their best” to rescue the remaining students. It also said steps were being taken to boost security around the university.

Such abductions from schools are common in northwestern and central Nigeria, where armed groups often take people hostage in exchange for huge ransoms that analysts said help them to buy guns and sustain their operations.

Nigeria’s military has been fighting armed groups like Boko Haram in the northeast, which has left it thinly stretched to tackle the kidnapping gangs, known locally as bandits.

The bandits are believed to be mostly ethnic Fulanis, but pastoralists and mercenaries from the region as well as neighbouring Chad and Niger are also involved.

An estimated 12,000 people died and hundreds of thousands more displaced across the northwestern states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina and Kaduna from 2011 to 2022 due to the crisis, according to the Centre for Democracy and Development, an Abuja-based policy and advocacy think tank.

In Zamfara, one of the kidnap-for-ransom hot spots, many vigilante groups have sprung up with teenagers joining their ranks and wielding knives and clubs.

The latest attack poses a new challenge to Tinubu, who extended the ruling party’s reign with his election victory after promising to solve Nigeria’s security crisis. It adds to growing pressure from the opposition and activists who have accused Tinubu of not doing enough to guarantee security.

Armed groups have been carrying out attacks in many remote communities, often taking advantage of the inadequate security presence in those areas.

While condemning the university abductions in a statement issued by his office on Sunday, Tinubu said his government is “determined to ensure that educational institutions remain sanctuaries of knowledge, growth, and opportunity, and totally free from the menacing acts of terrorists”.

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According to the regional governor’s spokesperson, 24 students, ten workers and a security guard were seized in the early hours of Friday from the Federal University of Gusau in Nigeria. 

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14 killed, 60 kidnapped in Gunmen attack in Nigeria

Gunmen in Nigeria killed eight people on Sunday and abducted at least 60 others in two communities of northwest Zamfara state, residents and a local traditional leader said, two days after armed men kidnapped dozens from a university in the state.

Elsewhere, in the northeast of the country suspected Islamist insurgents ambushed a convoy of vehicles under military escort, killing two soldiers and four civilians, said a police source and a motorist who witnessed the attack.

The attackers set fire to five vehicles and drove off with one truck, the witness said.

President Bola Tinubu is yet to spell out how he will tackle widespread insecurity. His economic reforms, including the removal of a costly fuel subsidy and freeing the naira currency, have increased the cost of leaving, angering citizens.

Residents said gunmen early on Sunday tried to attack a forward army base in a rural Magami community of Zamfara, but were repelled. Zamfara is one of the states worst affected by kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs known locally as bandits.

The gunmen in three groups attacked the army base and the communities of Magami and Kabasa, said a traditional leader who declined to be named for security reasons.

He said 60 people, mostly women and children, were kidnapped.

"The bandits rode many motorcycles with guns and other weapons (and) were shooting sporadically," Shuaibu Haruna, a resident of Magami, told Reuters by telephone.

Four people were killed during the attack, said Haruna, who attended their burial.

Isa Mohd from Kabasa community said four people were also killed and dozens of others kidnapped.

Police and army did not respond to requests for comment.

Attacks in the northwest are part of widespread insecurity in Nigeria. Islamist fighters still carry out deadly attacks in the northeast, gangs and separatists attack security forces and government buildings in the southeast, and clashes involving farmers and herders continue to claim lives.

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At least 20 villagers killed in latest attack in Nigeria

At least 20 people were killed by gunmen in north-central Nigeria early Thursday, surivors said, the latest in a cycle of violence targeting remote villages in the West African nation.

Dozens of gunmen arrived in Plateau state’s Heipang village after 1 a.m. and opened fire on villagers, most of whom were asleep, residents said.

“In a particular family, they killed five people — both the father, the mother and the children,” said one survivor, Jacob Dadi.

Dadi said villagers recovered 17 bodies in Heipang and then more people were shot to death as the gunmen fled to nearby brush land that often act as their hideout.

A local youth group, the Berom Youth Movement, said 21 people had been killed in total and seven others were injured.

Police confirmed the attack occurred but could not provide any detail about casualties in the area, which is 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Jos, the Plateau state capital.

Such attacks have become common in many parts of Nigeria’s northern region, where several armed groups target villages with inadequate security, either killing or abducting residents and travelers for ransom.

The attacks have defied security measures, including those introduced by Nigeria’s new president, Bola Tinubu, who was elected this year after promising to end the killings.

Residents in Heipang blamed the attack on herders of Fulani origin, who took up arms after clashing with farming communities for several decades over limited access to land and water. Plateau is among the areas with the most such attacks, with more than 100 people killed in the state in recent months.

Plateau Gov. Caleb Mutfwang said he was “deeply saddened” by the attack. The governor “appealed to security agencies to redouble their efforts and put an end to the senseless killings” in the state, Gyang Bere, his spokesman, said in a statement.

By Chinedu Asadu, AP

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25 killed by suspected ISWAP militants in Nigeria

Islamist militants killed at least 25 people and wounded others in attacks on two villages in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state, a hotbed for insurgency, a police source and two residents said on Wednesday.

The militants killed 18 herders grazing their livestock in one village and seven other people in another village, both in Kukawa district of the state that borders neighbouring Chad on Tuesday, the police source said.

Habibu Ardo, a herder in the area, said "ISWAP fighters (riding) on more than 15 motorcycles attacked our people while grazing in Kukawa and beheaded 18 of them without firing a single bullet on them in order to avoid the attention of security forces.”

Bakura Mustapha, a local vigilante who helped bury the dead, said “about 18 of the corpses were recovered in the bush and they have been buried today according to Islamic rites.”

A police spokesperson did not immediately respond to calls to confirm the incident.

Borno state is at the heart of a 14-year Islamist insurgency in Nigeria, which has spilled into neighbouring Chad and Cameroon. The conflict was launched by Boko Haram and later joined by its offshoot ISWAP, a regional affiliate of the Islamic state.

The United Nations estimates that the conflict had killed some 350,000 people by the end of 2020 and has left millions dependent on aid.

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34 killed by armed gang in Nigeria

At least 34 people, including seven soldiers, were killed in an attack by a gang of armed men in Nigeria's northwest Zamfara state, the head of a vigilante group and residents said.

The attack in the remote Dan Gulbi district of the Maru local government area of the state occurred on Monday afternoon, Ismail Magaji, the head of the local vigilante group, told Reuters.

Lawali Zonai, a resident, said, "27 villagers were killed in the attack while seven military personnel were ambushed on their way to aid the community from the gruesome attack."

A spokesperson for the Zamfara state police did not immediately respond to calls seeking to confirm the incident.

Gangs of heavily armed men, locally referred to as bandits, have wreaked havoc across Nigeria's northwest in the past three years, kidnapping thousands, killing hundreds and making it unsafe to travel by road or farm in some areas.

The attacks have confounded Nigeria's security forces that are overstretched combating a 14-year Islamist insurgency in the northeast, violent farmer-herder and sectarian clashes in the central region and rising attacks by a separatist group in the southeast.

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Nuhu Ribadu promises to stabilise Nigeria

Nuhu Ribadu on Monday, officially assumed duty as National Security Adviser (NSA) with a pledge to subdue insecurity and stabilise Nigeria.

Ribadu, who was appointed by President Bola Tinubu on June 19, took over from retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno.

“This is a work for Nigerians and we intend to continue with what has been done".

“We will stabilise this country, we will secure our country and we will make Nigeria peaceful,” the new NSA said.

He said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has the firm belief that “time has come for this country to enjoy peace, restore order and rule of law just like any other country in the world.

“Securing the nation is a continuous process. We will look at what has been done and build on it. We will count on your support in the course of discharging our responsibilities.

“Mr. President has a huge commitment to securing every inch of our country. We will work with all stakeholders to deliver on this vision."

“This enormous task of securing our country is that of all Nigerians, and all friends of Nigeria.”

Ribadu solicited the full cooperation of all servicemen and women, as well as all Nigerians.

He said there was need for Nigerians to unite to accomplish the administration’s quest for a more stable, peaceful and prosperous nation.

In his remarks, the former NSA said “Ribadu is well equipped, well qualified, well educated and have a very deep understanding of the complexity of the security challenges confronting the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

He added that the new NSA has the capacity to tackle whatever challenge that he might encounter having served in various related positions.

Monguno said he had submitted comprehensive handover note to his successor and briefed him extensively.

“For me, I want to give gratitude to the Almighty God for giving me the grace to serve for such a long time.

“And also allowing me to depart in good health and enjoy the rest of my life in an atmosphere that is bereft of the type of pressure that are associated with this all important office.

“I am also wishing in the same vein, that Mallam Nuhu Rubadu will have a very successful tenure and depart in good health when the time comes for him to depart.”

Monguno said the ever changing 21st security environment demand complex approach.

“Today we are dealing with a situation in which we have terrorists and insurrectionists.

“The way and manner you will deal with the situation is such that you will have to rely on collection of competent staff,” he added.

He urged the staff to support and cooperate with the new NSA to achieve the desired national security oobjectives.

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Four killed in attack on US convoy in Nigeria

Gunmen in south-eastern Nigeria have attacked a US convoy, killing four people, local police say.

They say two of the victims of Tuesday's attack in the Anambra state were US consulate employees, while the other two were police officers.

The attackers kidnapped three other people, and set their vehicle on fire.

Washington says no US citizens were in the convoy, which was travelling in the state plagued by violence and a separatist insurgency.

Nigerian police say the attack happened on the Atani-Osamale road in Ogbaru region.

Police spokesperson DSP Ikenga Tochukwu says security forces were currently carrying out a rescue and recovery operation.

In a statement to the BBC, the US confirmed that "there was an incident on 16 May in Anambra state", adding that Washington was working with Nigerian security services to investigate the attack.

"The security of our personnel is always paramount, and we take extensive precautions when organising trips to the field," the US state department said.

The Nigerian authorities often blame violent attacks in the region on the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) movement, which is fighting for a breakaway state in the south-east of the country.

Anambra and other parts of the south-east have seen a sharp rise in attacks on security forces since Ipob launched an armed wing in December 2020.

The group has so far made no public comments on the issue.

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29 villagers killed by gunmen in Nigeria

Gunmen attacked villages in troubled north-central Nigeria, killing 29 people and razing houses, survivors and authorities said Tuesday.

Many villagers remained unaccounted for Tuesday evening after the attack in Plateau state, residents said. It was the latest incident in a spiral of violence mainly targeting remote communities in the West African nation.

The gunmen targeted three villages in Plateau state’s Mangu local government area late Monday night and killed several people either with gunfire or after setting their houses ablaze, resident Philip Pamshak said.

“As I am talking to you, they are still attacking people. The tension is still high and there are places the bandits still control, so people are not able to go and check if there are others killed,” Pamshak said.

Plateau Gov. Simon Lalong said he was disturbed by the attack and directed security forces to search for the suspects and prosecute them, according to a statement issued by his spokesman.

“He (the governor) describes this as yet another attempt by crises merchants and criminals to return the state to the dark days of pain and agony,” said Makut Macham, Lalong's spokesman.

Such attacks have become rampant in many parts of Nigeria’s northern region, where several armed groups target villages with inadequate security, either killing or abducting residents and travelers for ransom.

Arrests are rare in such attacks, for which no group typically takes responsibility. However, authorities have in the past identified many of the attackers as former pastoralists who took up arms after decades of conflict with farmers over limited access to land and water.

The security crisis has led to thousands of deaths and defied several government and security measures in the last year.

After the latest killings in Plateau, Lalong directed the emergency response agency to visit the affected communities “to bring succor” to victims and their families, many of whom have either fled the area or have lost their homes, adding to Nigeria’s worsening humanitarian crisis.

By Chinedu Asadu, AP