Troops of Sector 1 Operation Fansan Yamma, OPFY, have recorded another operational success with the rescue of six kidnapped victims in the Kajuru/Kujama general area of Kaduna State.

Lt.-Col. Shuaib Umar, the acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations Officer, 1 Division Nigerian Army, disclosed this on Tuesday in Kaduna.

Umar said the rescue operation was conducted on Monday as part of a wider, coordinated series of operations across multiple axes within Chikun, Kajuru, Kachia and Kagarko Local Government Areas, including the fringes of Kauru border communities.

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According to him, the operations were deliberately designed to further suffocate the freedom of action of violent extremists within the Joint Operations Area, JOA, and, by implication, the wider Sector 1 OPFY JOA.

“Following a distress alert on the activities of violent extremists around the Kasso adjoining hills, troops of Sub-Sector 5, who were already conducting clearance operations in the Kujeni general area, swiftly mobilised to the location.

“On arrival, troops made contact with the criminals and engaged them with effective suppressive fire, forcing them to flee in disarray into the surrounding forest.

“The gallant troops immediately exploited the area, leading to the successful rescue of six kidnapped victims, “he said.

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Umar said the rescued victims were safely handed over to the representatives of Kajuru Local Government Area and the Kajuru Emirate Council for onward reunification with their families.

He said the General Officer Commanding/Commander Sector 1 Operation Fansan Yamma, Maj.- Gen. Abubakar Wase, had commended the troops.

He said he charged them to remain on maximum alert and continue to sustain the aggressive tempo to deny criminal elements freedom of action within the Joint Operations Area.

The Court of Appeal has affirmed the death sentence handed down to Farida Abubakar for the murder of her former husband, Chief Magistrate Attahiru Muhammad-Ibrahim.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on Monday in appeal No. CA/S/75C/2025, a three-member panel led by Justice Tunde Awotoye dismissed Abubakar’s appeal and upheld the decision of the Kebbi State High Court delivered on June 3, 2024.

The court ruled that the appeal lacked merit, adding that the conviction and sentence imposed by the trial court were proper and supported by credible evidence.

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Abubakar was prosecuted by the Kebbi State Government and represented by A. N. Salau, while the prosecution was led by Zainab Muhammad Jabbo of the Kebbi State Ministry of Justice.

During the trial, the prosecution called 12 witnesses and tendered several exhibits, including Abubakar’s extra-judicial statement and circumstantial evidence linking her to the crime.

In its judgment, the appellate court held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and upheld the trial court’s reliance on the doctrine of “last seen,” describing it as adequately supported by the evidence before the court.

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Although Abubakar’s extra-judicial statements were not deemed confessional, the court held that all the essential elements of the offences were established.

The Court of Appeal consequently affirmed her sentence to death by hanging under Section 191(b) of the Kebbi State Penal Code, as well as a seven-year imprisonment under Section 224(1) of the same law for causing grievous hurt.

Abubakar has since filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the judgment.

The Lagos State Government has begun a coordinated enforcement exercise along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway aimed at dismantling illegal structures and easing traffic congestion on the busy corridor.

The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, announced the development on Monday via a statement shared on his official X account.

According to Wahab, the clearance operation took off at Alakija in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area before moving through Iyana Iba.

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He said enforcement activities are currently ongoing opposite Lagos State University, LASU, with additional operations being carried out around Alaba Market in Ojo Local Government Area.

He explained that operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Agency, LAGESA, working alongside other enforcement units under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, are leading the exercise.

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“The clearance operation commenced at Alakija and has progressed through Iyana Iba. It is presently ongoing opposite LASU, with active enforcement also taking place at Alaba Market along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway,” Wahab stated.

The commissioner noted that the exercise is part of the state government’s commitment to improving environmental hygiene, restoring order to public spaces and ensuring the smooth movement of vehicles along the expressway, in line with established environmental and urban planning regulations.