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Unknown Gunmen Kidnap University Students As Sultan Calls For Prayers Over Insecurity

The insecurity in Nigeria has since taken a different shape as violence has taken over several parts of the country. Gone are the days where it was only the Boko Haram insurgents terrorizing the North East or Fulani Herdsmen in the North Central. Now everywhere you look across the six geo-political zones of the country, there is an armed group prevalent in the zone and constant wrecking havoc among the citizens – with impunity and mad audacity.

Be it Boko Haram terrorists, Bandits, Fulani herdsmen, Unknown gunmen, Kidnappers, every geo-political zone (if not every state) in Nigeria has a criminal group that is terrorizing them. Perhaps what is more worrying is the nonchalance and lackadaisical attitude of the government even as its citizens continue to suffer at the hands of these criminal elements.

Yesterday evening, Thursday, May 6, 2021, it was reported that a yet-to-be-determined number of students of the Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU) were kidnapped along the Okigwe/Uturu axis in Imo State. According to a statement from the Abia State Ministry of Information, as released by Igbere TV, both states (Abia and Imo) will work together to rescue the abducted students and bring the perpetrators to justice. The statement reads in part:

“Preliminary information available to us indicates that the students were moving in a mini van from Okigwe to Uturu between 7pm – 8pm when they ran into the armed gang who marched them into the nearby forest along with other yet-to-be-identified travelers. Two of the students managed to escape from the hoodlums while others are still being held at a yet-to-be-identified location.

“We are working with the government of Imo State and relevant security agencies in both states to ensure the rescue of the abducted students and others. Members of the public and ABSU community are advised to remain calm as we will spare no resource in ensuring the safety of the victims. No criminal operating within our environment will be allowed to escape justice as we take the job of protecting lives and property of Abians and visitors to the State very seriously.”

Meanwhile, the Sultan of Sokoto His Eminence, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has called on all Muslim faithful to use the Ramadan fast as an opportunity to pray for peace all over the country. The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) also expressed its worry over the spate of insecurity in the nation. In a statement signed by its Deputy Secretary-General NSCIA, Prof. Salisu Shehuwho, the council decry the heightened degree of insecurity in the country and urged Muslims to follow the path of peace and eschew violence. The statement read in parts:

“The Sultan is very concerned about the heightened degree of insecurity in the country and the attendant fatalities, tensions, fear, and confusion being foisted upon the citizenry. The Council believes and urges all Muslims to continue to support all efforts to sustain a united and indivisible Nigeria. The Council prays Almighty Allah to accept our supplications and grant us all the blessing of Ramadan.”

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Gunmen abduct Kwara APC chairman’s wife, daughter in midnight raid

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted the wife and daughter of Alhaji Muhammad Swasun, Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The victims, identified as Hajiya Fatima and her daughter Amina, were seized on Sunday, September 7, at night when a five-man armed gang stormed the party chairman’s residence in Sakpefu.

Eyewitness accounts revealed that the attackers scaled the compound fence and opened fire indiscriminately to terrify residents before breaking into one of the rooms.

“They entered into one of the rooms where they found his wife and daughter and took them away, shooting into the air,” a party executive told reporters, adding that the chairman narrowly escaped being kidnapped himself.

Another APC member confirmed that the gunmen operated for several minutes before whisking the women to an undisclosed location.

“The bandits abducted his wife, Hajiya Fatima, and his daughter, Amina, and took them to an unknown destination,” the source explained, according to Vanguard.

The latest abduction has heightened anxiety in Patigi, a region already grappling with recurring cases of kidnapping.

Residents have repeatedly urged the government and security operatives in recent months to intensify efforts to curb the menace.

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Ace Comedian Ali Baba evicted from Victoria Island property over legal dispute

Veteran Nigerian comedian Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome, popularly known as Ali Baba, has been evicted from his luxurious, multi-million-naira property located in Victoria Island due to a court dispute.

The property, which was purchased for ₦220 million by Ali Baba, is the subject of an ownership dispute at the Federal High Court.

Amid the legal dispute, Ali Baba and his company, XQZMOI TV, were evicted from the property located at 324A Akin Ogunlewe Street.

The eviction was carried out by bailiffs of the Federal High Court following a writ of possession signed on August 15, 2025.

The property in question was initially sold to Ali Baba by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in 2021 for ₦220 million.

At the time, AMCON claimed it was recovering debts allegedly owed by Harold Expansion Industries Nigeria Limited.

But Harold Expansion disputed the debt and counterclaimed that they had already made repayments. Their lawyer, Benjamin Olayiwola Sadibo, insisted that the property was sold wrongfully.

On July 31, 2025, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court delivered a verdict that changed everything as he dismissed AMCON’s case, ruling that the corporation had failed to provide convincing evidence of the alleged debt.

The Justice stressed that AMCON did not even present a statement of account to back its claims a fatal omission for a creditor. Worse still, AMCON did not file a defence against Harold Expansion’s counterclaim, leaving the court with no choice but to side with the company.

In addition to ordering the property to be returned to the family of its original owner, the judge also imposed ₦500 million in damages on AMCON.

Ali Baba’s culpability in the case came as a result of the timing of the purchase. Records show that he purchased the property while the case was still in court, despite an existing preservation order.

He was said to have been a tenant of the property’s original owner before AMCON evicted the family and sold it.

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Police summon El-Rufai, other Kaduna ADC chieftains over alleged criminal conspiracy

Anti-Open Grazing

The Kaduna Command of the Nigerian Police has summoned former Governor of the state, Malam Nasiru El-Rufai, and other top chieftains of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In the summons letter dated September 4, 2025, the ADC members were invited for questioning over alleged incitement of public disturbance, criminal conspiracy, mischief, and causing grievous hurt.

Signed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Uzainu Abdullahi, the letter said the invited individuals are required to come and clarify the allegations against them.

“This Department is currently investigating the above-mentioned case involving the following members of your party. You are requested to come along with them to SCID to clarify allegations reported against them by the complainants on 8th September, 2025.

“Mal. Nasir El-Rufa’i, Bashir Sa’idu, Jafaru Sani, Ubaidullah Mohammed, aka 30, Nasiru Maikano, Aminu Abita, and Ahmed Rufa’i Hussaini, aka Mikiya,” the letter reads.

Sani, one of the invited members and ADC North-West Vice Chairman, told Daily Trust that he learned of the invitation through social media.

“Yes, most of us only saw the statement on social media,” he said, declining further comments.

The development followed the heated exchanges between the Kaduna State government and El-Rufai over the violence that rocked an ADC meeting in the state last week.

The government accused the former Governor of plotting to cause destabilisation in the state through provocative actions and inflammatory statements.

In a statement signed by Dr. Suleiman Shuaibu, the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, the government said it wouldn’t sit idle and watch El-Rufai plunge the state back into violence, division, and insecurity.

“This Government will not fold its arms and allow a discredited former leader, who left the state in ruins, to ignite chaos and plunge the state into another era of ethno-religious tension, insecurity, and economic stagnation,” the statement read.

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