A retired judge, Justice Ifeoma Okogwu, has been killed by yet-to-be-identified assailants in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

Her body was discovered late Sunday night in her Asaba residence located behind The Pointer newspaper office under disturbing circumstances, sparking tension across the state capital.

It was learnt that her killers bound her legs, hands, and ransacked the entire house, pointing to a violent attack that appeared both targeted and carefully executed.

A key twist in the unfolding investigation is the mysterious disappearance of the night security guard assigned to the Judge’s residence, who reportedly vanished shortly after the incident, heightening suspicions of internal complicity.

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The victim’s brother, Ogbueshi Godfrey Okogwu, said, “My eldest sister was murdered in her house on Sunday night. We only received the news on Monday morning, so we presume the incident happened during the night.

“A major red flag is the disappearance of the night security guard. The morning guard claimed he met the gate wide open when he arrived. He said he simply sat there. Sat there doing what? I do not know. I do not understand this situation at all.”

He added that the family had already provided the Police with the identity and details of the private security company that deployed the guards.

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He said, “Police have detained the morning guard and summoned the owner of the security outfit to report to the station. It remains unclear whether the proprietor has complied.”

“Only God knows what truly happened. We will not know anything concrete until the Police complete their investigations,” he said.

Confirming the development, the Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, disclosed that “Some of the security are in police custody while one of them is at large.”

No fewer than 37 people kidnapped by bandits in the Bakori Local Government Area (LGA) of Katsina have been freed by their abductors.

Alhaji Abdulrahman Kandarawa, the lawmaker representing Bakori constituency at the State House of Assembly, disclosed this to newsmen in Katsina on Friday.

According to him, the victims, comprising 17 women, two children, and 18 men, regained freedom on Friday, following a peace deal with bandits in the area.

He explained that the kidnap victims were released without payment of ransom as part of the agreement reached during the dialogue.

The lawmaker said that with the development, “no kidnapped victim from Bakori is still with the kidnappers, except if we are not aware of them.

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“I want to assure you that, at the moment, there are no more victims in the forest from this local government area.

“Therefore, I am appealing to the people in our communities to maintain the relative peace we are presently enjoying,” he said.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar has said that bandits and terrorists are hiding in the forests to avoid bombs.

The minister stated this in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, which was monitored in Gusau, the capital of Zamfara State.

He highlighted the dangers of bombing bandits’ hideouts, noting that military operatives are close to ending banditry in the country, even amid recent school kidnappings.

Badaru pointed out that the pattern of attacks resembles guerrilla tactics, saying criminal groups strike unexpectedly to create fear.

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“This is how guerrilla warfare operates. There are calm times followed by attacks that alarm the nation,” the minister added.

He said that they know the locations of these groups, but some areas are risky for civilians, noting that some forests are inaccessible to bombs.

“We never claimed the problem was fully resolved. However, the recent kidnappings of schoolchildren concern us. We are analysing what went wrong and how to avoid it in the future.”

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“This is how guerrilla warfare works. There will be periods of calm, and then they launch an attack that shakes the nation. Yes, we know their locations, but some of these areas are places where direct strikes could endanger civilians, or forests where our bombs cannot penetrate,” he said.

Badaru confirmed that troops are working continuously to neutralise these networks. He expressed concern over renewed attacks on schools and noted that the government has ordered a full investigation into recent incidents.

“We never said the problem was completely over. But this renewed kidnapping of schoolchildren worries us. We are studying what went wrong and how to prevent a recurrence,” he said.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday struck out an appeal filed by Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and convicted terrorism offender, challenging alleged violations of his fundamental rights while in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).

The court held that the appeal was without merit and had become academic following Kanu’s November 20 conviction for terrorism by a Federal High Court.

A three-member panel of the appellate court ruled that Kanu’s claims regarding breaches of his rights to human dignity, access to quality health care, and freedom of religion were no longer actionable after his life imprisonment sentence and subsequent remand in prison custody.

In the lead judgment, Justice Boloukuromo Moses Ugo noted that the matter had become academic following confirmation by Kanu’s lawyer, Maxwell Opara, at the start of proceedings that his client was being held at Sokoto Prison. Justice Ugo stated that the court could no longer grant Kanu’s request to be transferred to Kuje Prison, which he had sought as part of the appeal.

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The judge further observed that since Kanu had previously indicated a preference for prison custody, the court could no longer grant his prayers in light of his conviction and current imprisonment at the facility he had desired.

The appeal challenged the July 3 ruling of Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja, now retired, which had dismissed Kanu’s fundamental rights enforcement suit on the grounds that he failed to substantiate his claims.

The respondents in the appeal were the Director-General of the DSS, the Department of State Services, and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

The court’s judgment effectively ends the legal challenge to Kanu’s detention conditions, following his life sentence for terrorism offences.

Recall that on November 20, 2025, a Federal High Court in Abuja delivered a series of rulings convicting Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), on several terrorism-related charges.

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Justice James Omotosho, presiding over the matter, first found Kanu guilty on two counts linked to engaging in acts of terrorism. The court held that his repeated declarations of sit-at-home orders, alongside threats of violence and killings issued through various broadcasts, amounted to terrorism under the relevant laws.

As the judgment progressed, the court also ruled on three additional counts, convicting Kanu of belonging to a proscribed organisation and of inciting his followers to violence.

Justice Omotosho stated that the prosecution presented evidence showing that Kanu remained a member of IPOB and its affiliate, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), despite their proscription.

The court further held that broadcasts attributed to Kanu were shown to have encouraged attacks that led to the deaths of security personnel and the destruction of public facilities, including police stations.