55 Feared Kidnapped As Bandits Ambush Katsina Wedding Train

Published

2 years ago

February 3, 2024

Editor

No fewer than 55 wedding guests who were said to be escorting a bride home along the Damari town in Sabuwa Local Government Area of Katsina State have been kidnapped by suspected bandits.

A resident confirmed to PUNCH Online on Friday in a telephone call that the incident occurred on Thursday around 9pm.

The source further informed The PUNCH that three local security volunteers lost their lives in the hurriedly coordinated effort to rescue the victims.

“Most of those the hoodlums attacked and abducted were those who were already crowded and riding in an open van called canter vehicle.

“The victims were initially over 70, mostly friends to the bride, in which several others escaped after jumping off the moving canter van when the terrorists hijacked the van,” he said.

The PUNCH gathered that the Sabuwa area is plagued by security challenges.

The local government area has been dealing with the presence of bandits and their accomplices, who are often informants.

The Chairman of Dandume Local Government Area, Alhaji Basiru Musa, confirmed the report.

While some unconfirmed reports suggest that a few kidnapped women managed to escape, the chairman promised to verify and provide updates.

He clarified that although the women were from Dandume, the bandits intercepted them on their way from Sabuwa Local Government Area at around 9pm.

Sabuwa and Dandume are among the local government areas being heavily tormented by bandits in Katsina State.

In a related incident around the same time, gunmen reportedly from the Siddi forest, have been confirmed to have infiltrated Tashar Nadaya, near the Gazari district border in Sabuwa LG.

The criminals were said to have killed a commercial motorcycle rider and made away with his bike.

It was also learnt that they opened fire on a group of four individuals and confiscated their motorcycles

Attempts by The PUNCH to get an official confirmation of this latest abduction from the police and other security agencies were said not be successful.

Auto-crash Claims 2 Lives On Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

Published

4 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

The Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, TRACE, on Friday confirmed that two people died in a lone accident around Oremeji Bus Stop on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The Corps’ spokesperson, Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abeokuta.

Akinbiyi said the accident, involving a Mazda bus with registration number YNF 414 XN, occurred at about 1:30 a.m.

He explained that the two occupants of the vehicle, the driver and conductor, both adult males, died on the spot, adding that no injury was recorded.

According to him, eyewitnesses said the bus lost control due to speeding, hit a road barrier, and somersaulted.

Akinbiyi further said the vehicle, which was conveying live chicks, had been towed by the Ibafo Motor Traffic Division of the Police for further investigation.

He added that the remains of the victims had been deposited at the Divine Touch Hospital morgue in Ibafo by operatives of TRACE, the police, and the Ogun State Emergency Services (OGSAES).

He noted that traffic was briefly affected during the rescue operation but was later restored through the efforts of TRACE and the police.

Court Sentences Man To Death For Killing Son

Published

18 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

The Kano State High Court has sentenced Abubakar Alhaji Sabo to death by hanging after finding him guilty of killing his newborn son.

The Kano State Government prosecuted Sabo before the court on charges of culpable homicide and causing grievous harm.

He was accused of force-feeding the infant with a local insecticide known as ‘fiya-fiya’, resulting in the child’s death.

Sabo killed the baby after the mother, his girlfriend, refused to obey his instruction to kill the child to avoid the shame of fathering a child out of wedlock.

Following the incident, he was also found guilty of striking the girlfriend’s father on the head with a brick after he caught Sabo poisoning the baby.

During the trial, the prosecution counsel, Barrister Safiya Yalwati Yahaya, presented three witnesses, while the defendant testified in his own defence.

After reviewing the evidence presented by both parties, Justice Aisha Yau, who presided over the case, found him guilty of infanticide and sentenced him to death by hanging.

The court also imposed an additional three-year prison sentence for causing grievous harm.

Nine Kwara Victims: Kidnappers Insist On N300m Ransom

Published

18 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

No progress has been recorded on the bandits demand for N300m ransom for the release of nine victims abducted in Adanla community of Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara state on Boxing Day, December 26, 2025.

Coordinator of the Joint Security Watch for Kwara South Senatorial District, Zubair Olaitan, disclosed this on Wednesday.

According to DAILY POST, the bandits have so far made three contacts with the community leaders that “if the N300m is not paid, the victims will not be released.”

The bandits seized the nine victims in an attempt to abduct the King of the community, and his wife on Boxing Day, but failed.

The King, David Olarinoye, was away to Igbaja town for a programme when the armed bandits invaded his community.

The bandits, however, later seized nine other victims in the community and marched them to the bush.

While seven victims were abducted at the palace of the King, two others were captured on their way to the bush.

Following the abduction, the bandits demanded a N300m for the release of the abducted victims, resisting any negotiations for reduction of the ransom.