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Abuja Chief Imam’s Son Shot Dead Over Land Dispute

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The family of Abubakar Yaqub, Chief Imam of the Kuchibuyi community in the Bwari area of the Federal Capital Territory, is in mourning after his son, Attahiru Abubakar, was allegedly shot dead by police officers during a land dispute in the area on Saturday.

It was gathered that Attahiru died instantly after being hit by a police bullet, while his elder brother, Abass, sustained gunshot wounds and is currently battling for his life at a hospital.

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The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, in a statement released Saturday, had stated that the police were responding to a civil disturbance in the area.

According to her, “The FCT Police Command received a distress call regarding a civil unrest incident stemming from a land dispute at Kuchibuyi community under Byazin Division.

“The Divisional Police Officers of Byazin and Kubwa swiftly mobilised to the scene and brought the situation under control. Arrests have been made, and the investigation is currently ongoing.”

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READ ALSO:Police Unveil Operation To Tackle ‘One-chance’ Robberies In FCT

Adeh stressed that the conflict was not instigated by the police, saying, “It is important to clarify that the issue is a communal dispute and not in any way related to the police.”

She also quoted the Commissioner of Police, Ajao Adewale, as saying, “The Commissioner of Police strongly condemns the actions of youths attacking police officers who were on a mission to restore law and order.

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“Such behaviour will not be condoned, and firm action will be taken against anyone who attacks police or other security personnel responding to distress calls.”

However, members of the Kuchibuyi community have contested the police account, claiming that the incident involved indiscriminate shooting by the officers that resulted in the fatality and injuries, which the official statement failed to acknowledge.

Speaking to The PUNCH, the deceased’s brother, Sanusi Abubakar, said their father, the Chief Imam, was also shot during the incident.

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READ ALSO:FCT Police Arrest Man Over Death Of 3-year-old Boy Who Drowned In Uncovered Septic Tank

He accused the police of acting on the orders of an estate manager attempting to forcibly grab community land.

He said, “There was one estate manager who wanted to take over a large portion of the community land without our knowledge. He arrived with some soldiers and vigilantes.

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“Later, he called the police. After some boys blocked the road during the standoff, and it was seemingly resolved, police officers and the task force returned and started shooting at residents.

“My brother, Attahiru, was shot dead on the spot. My second brother, Abass, was also hit and is in the hospital. Our father, the Chief Imam, was also shot.”

A resident who witnessed the incident but requested anonymity for fear of victimisation corroborated Sanusi’s account in a chat with The PUNCH.

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READ ALSO:FCT Polls: APC Releases Names Of Primary Election Committee Members

The police lied in their statement. They didn’t mention that three people were shot—two sons of the Chief Imam and the Imam himself. Attahiru died instantly from a gunshot to the chest while his brother is in the hospital in Bwari.

“After that, the police arrested about six young men they saw on sight. What happened yesterday (Saturday) was frightening, and they’re trying to cover it up. That same estate manager brought soldiers to the community just two days earlier.”

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Photos seen by The PUNCH showed Attahiru’s lifeless body with a gunshot wound in the upper left chest, and another image displayed his body wrapped in cloth after the incident.

When contacted again on Sunday for clarification on why the statement didn’t mention the shooting and fatality, police spokesperson Adeh simply referred PUNCH Metro to her initial release and did not respond to further enquiries.

Attahiru’s death adds to the growing list of Nigerians, including women and youths, who have lost their lives in alleged incidents of police brutality.

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Metro

Police Arrest Siblings Over Communal Clash In Ondo

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Ondo State Police Command has arrested two brothers, Ogunsemore Gbadebo and Michael Ogunsemore for their allegedly involvement in a violent communal clash that occurred in Eki/Oboto Community of Ilaje local government area of the State.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the suspects had been locked in a prolonged land dispute with the monarch of the community, Oba Oyetayo Ofoaye of Aboto.

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According to the. state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Olusola Ayanlade, the matter was first taken to the Okitipupa High Court, which ruled in favour of the monarch.

However, not satisfied with the verdict, the siblings filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Akure, where the appellate court again upheld the Oba’s position.

READ ALSO:Job Seekers Protest Alleged Fake Employment Letters For Ondo Teaching Jobs

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The PPRO alleged that the brothers resorted to self-help thereafter, recruiting armed thugs to unleash violence on the community rather than accepting the judgement of the Appeal Court.

It was learnt that the attack reportedly perpetrated by the suspects and their gangs, displaced residents, destroyed huts, palm produce, and other valuables, while one Jeremiah Okuntimehin sustained machete injuries in the fracas.

This criminal escalation turned a civil dispute into a grave security threat, prompting swift police intervention,” the PPRO said.

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According to the police spokesman, the police launched a coordinated operation that led to the arrest of the brothers – Gbadebo and Michael, who have since been arraigned in court.

READ ALSO:JUST IN: Ex-Ondo SDP Governorship Candidate Dies

He added that efforts were ongoing to track down other fleeing members of the group who took part in the unrest.

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Ayanlade stressed that the arrests marked a decisive step in restoring peace to the affected community, warning that communal violence will not be condoned under any guise.

Commissioner of Police in the State, CP Adebowale Lawal cautioned individuals and groups against undermining judicial decisions or taking the law into their own hands, warning that such acts would attract the full weight of the law.

He assured residents of Eki/Oboto and Aboto of adequate police presence and urged them to remain calm, law-abiding, and cooperative with security agencies.

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The CP also emphasised that dialogue and peaceful engagement remained the only sustainable means of resolving communal disputes.

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Foreign Currency Found On Beggars As 40 Evacuated In Kwara

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The Kwara State government has again evacuated another set of 40 beggars from the street of Ilorin, the state capital.

The evacuation of beggars was carried out by the officials of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Development in collaboration with operatives of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCS), Kwara State Command.

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During a search conducted on the beggars, a foreign currency (US dollar) was found on one of them, Musa Mahmuda, who claimed to be from Kano State.

READ ALSO:Bandits Invade Kwara Community, Kill One, Kidnap Eight Others

A sharp knife was found in the possession of another beggar.

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Seven of the evacuees were second term offenders, having been arrested during a previous evacuation excercise but they returned to the streets again.

The operation was conducted at Tipper Garage in Tanke, Offa garage and Garin Alimi areas – all in Ilorin metropolis.

The Commissioner for social Welfare and Development, Dr Mariam Imam, expressed delight that the excercise was yielding the desired results, saying the number of those evacuated from the streets in the latest exercise has “dratically reduced from 94 arrested during the last time to 40”.

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READ ALSO:Police Arrest Man For Allegedly Dismembering Pregnant Sister-in-law In Kwara

She said the ministry’s evacuation team was changing its “strategy as the beggars too were changing their tactics and locations to evade being evacuated from the streets.”

She implored those patronising the beggars to stop doing so and channel their offerings through religious organisations, orphanages and places of worship, reiterating that street begging has been outlawed in the state.

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The head, Non-custodian Centre, Nigerian Correctional Services, Kwara State Command, Adebayo Okunola, said the appropriate punitive measures will be meted out to the arrested beggars to serve as deterrence to them and others.

We will make sure that they clean the streets, they will sweep the streets so that they will know that there is dignity in labour,” he stated.

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NDLEA Arrests Indian Businessman, 3 Others Over Alleged Trafficking Of N3.9bn Tramadol

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested an Indian businessman, Gupta Ravi Kumar, alongside three Nigerian accomplices in connection with the seizure of 2,248,000 pills of tramadol 200mg/225mg.

Kumar was apprehended alongside Ogunlana Noah Olanrewaju, Olushola Idrees Kayode and Bakare Korede Muheeb at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja Lagos.

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The tramadol shipment worth N3,990,000,000 in street value was imported from Delhi, India, disguised as multi-vitamins in 114 cartons and arrived the import shed of the Lagos airport on an Ethiopian Airline flight on Monday 8th September 2025.

NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi said a team of NDLEA officers who had put the consignment under surveillance, swooped on a clearing agent and two drivers who were trying to move the shipment out of the airport in two trucks on Thursday, September 11th.

READ ALSO:NDLEA Arrests 26, Recovers 41,410.53 KG Drugs In Edo

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Babafemi said a follow-up operation the following day, Friday, led to the arrest of the Kumar, when he was trying to take delivery of the consignment.

At the Terminal 2 departure of the airport, NDLEA operatives on Sunday, September 7, intercepted a passenger Onyeganochi Stanley Ifeanyi while travelling on a Qatar Airline flight to Doha.

“A search of his bag led to the recovery of 900grams of skunk, a strain of cannabis concealed in crayfish. As a first-time traveler, Onyeganochi claimed the bag was given to him to help take to Doha by a Qatar-based Nigerian Ohaodiegwu Anthony Uchenna who actually followed him to the airport.

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“His confession led to the arrest of Uchenna who was still within view. Operatives who later conducted a search of Uchenna’s hotel room in Ajao Estate discovered additional 200grams of the same psychoactive substance.

READ ALSO:NDLEA Busts Cartel, Recovers ₦6.4bn Drugs From Kingpins

He claimed he was to return to Doha days later and pick the bag from the unsuspecting Onyeganochi if he had succeeded in escaping security checks,” the NDLEA said.

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Meanwhile, at the Tincan Port in Lagos, a total of 161 parcels of Canadian Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 81.7kg and 1.2kg hashish oil were recovered from a 40ft container of vehicle spare parts and used vehicles imported from Montreal Canada during a joint examination of the shipment on Tuesday 9th September.

Two suspects including John Ochigbo, 53, and Okeke Kingsley, 26, were arrested in connection with the seizure.

READ ALSO:NDLEA Arrests Widow Using Fake Pregnancy To Traffic Cocaine

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Another shipment of Canadian Loud with a total weight of 65kg was tracked from the port to Third Mainland bridge where NDLEA operatives intercepted a Toyota Sienna vehicle conveying the consignment, recovered it and arrested the driver Abubakar Ibrahim, 42 on Thursday 11th September.

Two separate shipments of methamphetamine concealed in picture frame and Loud, hidden in video players were seized at two courier companies in Lagos on Monday 8th and Thursday 11th September respectively by NDLEA operatives.

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