
News
Over 20 people killed as terrorists kidnap entire male population of Zamfara community over missing rifles
• Abducted locals still qheld in captivity
At least 20 people from the Randa Community in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State were killed after terrorists loyal to notorious terror kingpin, Lawalli Damina, kidnapped the entire male residents of the community over missing rifles.
Locals and a traditional leader said that the terror leader abducted the male members and children of Randa after they denied knowledge of the whereabouts of two rifles that allegedly went missing in the community.
The rifles were said to belong to two fighters of the terror kingpin who were killed by another gang member after they clashed over a girl in the community.
Randa, which is under Mutumji ward, is in the Dansadau Emirate and sits at the edge of Kuyanbana forest in the ungoverned boundaries with Katsina, Kaduna, Kebbi and Niger states.
Reports said the bandits had last September attacked the Forward Operating Base in Mutumji, killing nine air force personnel, two policemen and one personnel of the Nigerian Army.

The bandits reportedly also stole weapons and other equipment before setting the base ablaze. Since then, the Nigerian government has not redeployed security personnel to the area.
Bandits have imposed a protection levy on residents of the almost 40 communities in the area following the withdrawal of security personnel from the area.
How the latest kidnap happened
A traditional leader in Mutumji, Abdulkadir Abdullahi, told PREMIUM TIMES that Randa has since paid their protection levy and entered a peace truce with the bandit kingpin, Mr Damina, whose fighters have unrestricted control over the community.
Last week a fight broke out among the fighters as they fought over a lady who visited from the Shinkafi area.
Mr Abdullahi said one of the armed bandits identified only as Gora, met two of his colleagues with a lady identified as Zaliha. After a quarrel broke out, Mr Gora withdrew from the community in annoyance. He, however, ambushed his colleagues at the outskirts of the town, while they were returning to the forest. He killed them on the spot and fled.
The rifles of the deceased bandits went missing.
The traditional leader said following the incident, the bandits’ leader, Mr Damina, visited the community and compelled the community members to bury the deceased gunmen according to Islamic teachings.
After the burial rituals, Mr Damina summoned all adult male members to a meeting at a mango plantation on the outskirts of the town, where he demanded the two missing rifles.
“Unknown to the locals the location was surrounded by armed bandits, Mr Damina abducted them after they denied knowledge of the missing rifles, he insisted that the rifles were within the community.
“He abducted over 270 locals from Randa. He said he has forgiven them for the killings of his boys but insisted that the community must bring the missing rifles.
“As I spoke to you now, over 20 people died from suffocation, trauma, and other sicknesses because they were locked up in overstretched structures.
“Some of the abducted persons have died of heart attack after one of them was slaughtered in their presence, others were shot at close range after they denied knowledge of the missing rifles.
“Three of the abducted person have escaped. We have reported the incident to the government authorities but there has been no response from them over the week. Now he (Mr Damina) has placed N60 million for the missing rifles before releasing the abducted locals.
“Unfortunately, the same people who prevented us from farming are asking us to give them money, where is the money? Those that were able to farm, their crops have been destroyed, stolen by the gunmen,” Mr Abdullahi said.
He said the abducted locals are still being held captive while women who were left behind in the Randa community have fled to Dansadau town and other neighbouring places.
The Zamfara State Government is yet to speak on the incident.
The Zamfara State commissioner of Security and Home Affairs, Mamman Tsafe, told our reporter to give him an hour before commenting on the incident. However, hours later he did not respond, and his phone was switched off.
The police spokesperson in the state, Muhammed Shehu, did not respond to phone calls and text messages to comment on the incident.
The Dansadau Emirate alone covers 492 square kilometres out of the 1180 square kilometres of Zamfara State, which is over one-third of the landmass of the state. The area has land suitable for farming and rearing livestock.
Findings revealed that despite the landmass and population of Dansadau Emirate, less than 100 security agents are patrolling selected places in the emirate. The residents said this has exposed them to the terror of the bandits.
PREMIUM TIMES
News
Security guard kidnaps employer’s two children, demands ransom
A private security guard has escaped with two kids from his employer in Minna, with the police suspecting abduction.
The security guard, named Sani Abdulrahaman, a Fulani by tribe, on Sunday, reportedly took Umaru and Anas, both six years old, on Sallah picnic without the knowledge of their father, Alhaji Danjuma, a businessman, and failed to bring them back home.
The father of the children raised the alarm asking the public and security agencies to help him locate the fleeing security guard and his children.
Danjuma said someone called him on Sunday evening and said he was in Erena forest in Shiroro Local Government Area with the children.
According to him, the caller asked for undisclosed ransom before his children who were in their custody would be released.
When contacted, Niger State Command Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the incident, which he said occurred about one o’clock on Sunday, May 31.

Abiodun explained that the security man pretended that he was taking the children for Sallah celebration in the town, but did not return.
He said the police suspected abduction but disclosed that “investigation has commenced and efforts to locate the children are ongoing.”
News
Police arrest suspect behind AI-generated Tinubu voice note
The Nigerian Police Force has arrested Ifechukwu Dennis, the man identified as the originator of an AI-generated voice note that was widely circulated online as a leaked recording of President Bola Tinubu.
Presidential Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced the arrest on Thursday in a post on his official X account.
“The IGP crack team has arrested Ifechukwu Dennis who originated the fake voice that he passed on to his gullible targets as President Tinubu’s voice,” he said.
The arrest closes a week-long controversy that began on May 27, 2026, when a video of social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, went viral.
In the clip, an AI-generated voice resembling Tinubu’s was heard making inflammatory statements — including that insecurity in the South-East was deliberate, that he had pressured Peter Obi to step down ahead of the 2023 election, and that he was indifferent to Nigerians’ suffering.
Investigations by multiple news organisations, however, established that VDM had not posted the doctored audio.

An unidentified individual had extracted footage from VDM’s original Instagram video and superimposed the AI-generated voice notes before recirculating the manipulated version online.
Despite this, the Presidency had initially called for VDM’s prosecution.
Onanuga had described the incident as “a clear case of egregious abuse of the social media platform,” drawing criticism after fact-checkers confirmed VDM’s original video contained none of the fabricated audio.
Further details on the circumstances of Dennis’s arrest and the charges he may face were not immediately available at the time of filing this report.
News
Five abducted Kwara worshippers killed, one escapes, others still held
Terrorists have killed five out of the eight worshippers abducted at ECWA Church Omugo in Ifelodun local government area of Kwara state, says one escaped abductees.
Rev Sunday Omole had urged federal government to expedite action on the release of the abductees from the captivity of the terrorists.
The clergyman said government intervention had become necessary after the community paid the terrorists N20 million and provided additional items worth more than N300,000, yet the abductors refused to release the worshippers and instead demanded an additional N300 million ransom.
He added that from the action of the terrorists it was clear that they just wanted to be exploiting the community.
Recall that eight of the worshippers including the Pastor’s wife were kidnapped in the morning of March 22,2026 during a Sunday service.
The death of the five worshippers including the Pastor’s wife was disclosed in a statement issued by the Pastor of the church, Rev Sunday Omole, Wednesday evening.

The statement reads:
“It is with deep pain in my heart that I inform the church, families and individual concerned in regard to the 8 people that were abducted from ECWA OMUGO on 22nd of March, 2026.
“We received one of our son’s, Mr Sunday Bakare also abducted over a month ago, he escaped and brought the following news that only 3 out of 8 of our people are remaining with the kidnappers. The remaining 5 have gone to be with the Lord.
“They are; Elder Chief David Omopariola,
Chief Joseph Ibitoye Afariogun,
Mrs Iyabo Aniyi,
Elder Joshua Akanbi Adeyemi and
Mrs. Rachel Oluwaremilekun Omole(his wife).
“Brethren, let’s know that God knows why He allows this to happen. The great comforter will comfort us in Jesus name, amen.
“The prayers of the saints in the beginning of the church also worked and answered still they had martyrs. John 16:33 says (NIV) “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace . In this world you will have trouble . But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Heaven is our home and Gain. Let’s reason as child of God as we navigate this moment. God bless you, and comfort you all in Jesus name, amen.”concluded the statement.
It was also gathered that the three remaining worshipers are in terrible health condition, while a member of church who escaped from the terrorists captivity is currently receiving an urgent medical attention in a private hospital in OmuAran.
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