An Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo has sentenced four men to death by hanging for the kidnapping of a 62-year-old retired ExxonMobil staff member, Idongesit Demas Udom, and the amputation of his hand after collecting a ₦5 million ransom. The convicts—Chinatu Iwe Abraham, 38, from Isiala Ngwa, Abia State; William ThankGod Sunday,…
Islamic cleric Sheikh Gumi has described the kidnapping of schoolchildren as a “lesser evil” compared to killing soldiers, insisting that Nigeria must negotiate with bandits to prevent greater bloodshed. Speaking in an interview with the BBC shared on Tuesday, Gumi said that while the abduction of minors is “evil,” it remains less grievous than murder…
The police have killed two members of an interstate kidnapping syndicate and arrested seven others in Gombe state. The arrest of the members of the syndicate was announced in a statement by the spokesman of Gombe command, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, on Friday. Abdullahi said operatives of the command on Nov. 23, detained a 40-year-old suspect…
Two Chinese nationals working on a major road construction project in Kwara State have been abducted by gunmen, authorities confirmed on Friday. The incident occurred on Monday at the Bode Saadu–Kaiama–Kosubosu road project site in Ejidongari, Moro Local Government Area. Witnesses said the attackers, masked and heavily armed, stormed the area and fired multiple rounds…
Former Senate leader and 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo, Teslim Folarin, on Thursday, expressed concern over the abduction of Hon. Adewale Oriade, a member of the party in Ibadan. Mr Folarin, in a Facebook post, described Mr Oriade’s abduction as an “unacceptable and a painful reminder of the growing insecurity…
The Senate on Tuesday passed for second reading a landmark bill seeking to designate kidnapping and hostage-taking as acts of terrorism, impose the death penalty on offenders, and empower security agencies to trace and forfeit assets linked to the crime. The bill, titled Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (SB.969), was sponsored by Senate…
A woman has been arrested for orchestrating the kidnapping of her 4-year-old son and demanding ransom from husband. According to Zagazola Makama, a counter insurgency reporter, the four-year-old boy was rescued unhurt after being kidnapped in Koko Local Government Area of Kebbi State. The mother was arrested by Nigeria Police Force for allegedly orchestrating the…
Suspected bandits launched a midnight assault on Chacho village in Wurno Local Government Area of Sokoto State, abducting a bride-to-be and her bridesmaids just hours before her planned wedding ceremony. The attackers reportedly stormed the community around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday, whisking away the young woman, her friends, and eight other residents. All of the…
Gunmen have attacked a church in Kogi State, kidnapping a pastor and his wife. The attack on the newly established Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Ejiba, Yagba West Local Government Area, occurred during Sunday service. The community was said to have been thrown into chaos after armed bandits launched an attack during the church service….
Four of the six directors of the Federal Ministry of Defence abducted on 10 November along the Kabba–Lokoja highway have regained their freedom, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) confirmed on Friday, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria. The officials were travelling from Lagos to Abuja for a promotion exam…
