News
BREAKING: 27 kidnappers, Ekpa’s gunmen killed in Enugu
…as Enugu residents urge govt to demolish properties used as kidnap hideouts
No fewer than 27 kidnappers, including members of the Auto Pilot, also known as Unknown Gunmen, a notorious breakaway faction of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) loyal to the Finland based fugitive, Simon Ekpa, which terrorized Enugu and its environs had been gunned down in shoot-outs with security operatives at various locations across the state in the past two weeks, a police detective has disclosed.
This was as residents of the state appealed to the governor to invoke the provisions of the state’s criminal code and demolish all the properties used by kidnappers and other criminal elements as stash houses, saying it would serve as deterrent to criminals.
Speaking at Ugwuogo Nike-Opi Road in the early hours of Wednesday, a Police Superintendent, SP Onochie Ezeh, who led a joint security operation to rescue some kidnap victims, said the operation led to the killing of 7-man-gang kidnappers at Ogbeke Nike where the kidnappers used a large poultry farm to hide their hostages.
He explained that Wednesday’s successful operation was part of the sustained operations in the state to flush out criminals operating from other neighboring states, including kidnappers, unknown gunmen and other unscrupulous elements.
“We were on the trail of these kidnappers for more than three months now. They had been operating within this axis where they kidnapped their victims and kept them at a large poultry farm at Ogbeke Nike until ransoms are paid. So, on a tipoff from members of the public who suspected the strange movements in the area and the accounts of some of the victims of these criminals, we swung into action. On sighting us, these men of the underworld opened fire on my men, and we quickly retaliated and overpowered them with our superior firepower,” he stressed.
Speaking further, SP Ezeh disclosed that the combined security task force, set up by the Enugu State governor, Mr Peter Mbah, as a tactical squad against kidnappings and activities of unknown gunmen, had recorded milestones in policing the state and flushing out criminal elements.
“This is a gallant crack squad with the mandate to eliminate every form of threat in the state. We have recorded huge successes over the past months. You know our role is not to rush to the media to tell our story but to ensure that every citizen and resident of the state has peace.
“I can tell you that we have already neutralized over 7 criminal gangs who were mostly kidnappers and unknown gunmen. We are going after them. We are taking the battle to their doorsteps because the governor said we should not come back home if we don’t completely rid the state of threats.
“So we are on it. In fact, during our operations, we identified many criminal hideouts that serve as rogue premises where kidnap victims and dangerous weapons are kept. These places include New Artisan Market, Akwuke community, Akegbe-Ugwu, Four Corners, Awgu, Mgbowo, Emene, Eke and Afa in Udi and some parts of Isi Uzo local government. During rescue operations, we were able to neutralize over 30 of the kidnappers and recovered guns and valuables,” the police chief added.
Meanwhile, residents in the state have called on Governor Mbah to go beyond arresting and hunting down the kidnappers to invoking his power as the chief security officer of the state through the demolition of all the properties harbouring the kidnappers.
According to them, the law empowers the state government to demolish buildings used for kidnap activities, including hotels and private facilities.
A senior lawyer, Chief Ani Iheanacho, who spoke to newsmen in Enugu, said the state has an existing criminal law which was amended in 2016 to accommodate a new section which empowers the governor to pull down structures used for kidnapping.
“We cannot continue like this. Yes, beyond going after the criminals, the governor must show both political and legal courage to go after properties used as hostage holding cells and bring them down irrespective of who the owner or owners are.
“The state must deter these criminals and those enabling their access to such buildings. That is what justice is all about. It’s justice to the kidnap victims; justice to the family of the victims, and justice to the society at large,” the legal practitioner submitted.
One of the rescued kidnap survivors, Dr Kate Pamela, said she was traumatized by the ugly experiences at the hands of the kidnappers.
“Each time I pass through that poultry, I feel I have been denied justice by still allowing it to operate. They kidnapped us and kept us there for five days. They even killed two of the victims because their families could only afford ten million naira each against the fifty million naira demanded. Notwithstanding that I was able to identify the bodies of three of the kidnappers when they were killed, I still feel that the area should be cleared.
“Government must ensure justice by turning that place to a landfill,” Dr Pamela fumed.
Two suspected bandits have been killed and ₦10 million recovered after local hunters intercepted a gang allegedly involved in a kidnapping operation in Falgore Forest, Doguwa Local Government Area of Kano State.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday, shortly after three suspected bandits collected the ransom demanded for the release of a 45-year-old man, Kabiru Aliyu.
Aliyu, a resident of Falgore Village, was abducted on September 11, 2026.
According to the Kano State Police Command, the suspects were intercepted by local hunters, popularly known as Yan Bula, while returning to their hideout after collecting the ransom.
Two of the suspects reportedly died during the confrontation, while the third escaped with injuries. The hunters recovered the entire ₦10 million ransom.
The police spokesperson, Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, said preliminary investigations identified one of the deceased suspects as Dogo Isah, a commercial motorcycle operator from Maigwanda Village in Kubau Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The operation was carried out under Operation Kukan Kura, a security initiative aimed at tackling kidnapping, banditry and other violent crimes in Kano State.
The Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, commended the hunters for their intervention and directed security operatives to intensify efforts to apprehend the fleeing suspect and recover any weapons used by the gang.
The rescued victim was subsequently debriefed, medically examined and reunited with his family.
The incident highlights the role of local hunters in intelligence gathering and rural security, particularly in areas where difficult terrain poses challenges to conventional security operations.
However, the escape of one of the suspects leaves security operatives with the task of tracking him down and determining whether the gang was involved in other kidnapping incidents in the region.
The police urged residents to provide credible information that could assist ongoing efforts to apprehend fleeing suspects and prevent further criminal activities.
Abba Atiku Abubakar, son of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has pledged 10 buses to support mobilisation for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Abba made the pledge during a visit to the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Secretariat in Abuja on Friday, according to a statement issued by Yusi Buba, Senior Special Assistant on Youth Mobilisation to the party’s Deputy National Chairman.
He was received by the APC Deputy National Chairman (North), Bukar Dalori.
Buba said Abba commended the party’s leadership and Tinubu’s administration, expressing support for the President’s continued stay in office.
“In a demonstration of his commitment to the political engagement ahead of the 2027 general elections, Hon. Abba Atiku Abubakar announced the donation of ten buses to support activities aimed at mobilising support for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima in 2027,” the statement said.
The APC aide said Dalori welcomed Abba and acknowledged his pledge, describing it as support for the party’s mobilisation efforts ahead of the elections.
The development followed Abba’s announcement of a nationwide mobilisation campaign for Tinubu’s re-election and the unveiling of the Haske Bola Tinubu Organisation, a political support group established to advance the President’s second-term ambition.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Abba said the organisation would commence activities in the Federal Capital Territory before expanding to other parts of the country.
He also announced plans for a two-million-man mobilisation march across the six geopolitical zones, with the exercise scheduled to begin in Abuja.
Abba defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC in January, declaring his support for Tinubu’s re-election bid.
His father, Atiku Abubakar, is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general election.
Two suspected cases of Ebola disease have been identified in the North-East region of the country.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) disclosed this in a post via its official X handle on Saturday, adding that both individuals had been isolated.
It also said contact identification and listing are ongoing, and laboratory testing is underway.
According to the agency, confirmation is subject to laboratory results.
Two suspected cases of Ebola disease have been identified in Nigeria’s North-East region. Both individuals have been isolated, contact identification and listing is ongoing, and laboratory testing is being conducted,” the NCDC said.
“Being classified as suspected cases does not mean they are confirmed Ebola cases; confirmation is subject to laboratory results.
“The public is advised to maintain good hand hygiene, practise enhanced sanitation and follow guidance from public health authorities. Further updates will be provided as verified information becomes available.”
The latest update by the NCDC came days after it said it identified another contact, an e-hailing driver, linked to the confirmed case of the recent Ebola outbreak in Nigeria, increasing the number of primary contacts to 54.
The NCDC Director-General, Dr. Jide Idris, told Channels Television on October 26 that efforts were ongoing to identify the secondary contacts.
“So we are not out of the woods yet until we are sure that we have all the contacts, and they have been followed up. So we are still not out of the woods; because the index case is out doesn’t mean that we don’t have that,” he said.
The Federal Government had announced Nigeria’s first confirmed case of the Bundibugyo strain in Abuja on October 20, 2026, identifying the patient as a woman with a recent travel history to Uganda, who returned to Nigeria with symptoms on October 7, but the Ugandan authorities denied reports of an Ebola outbreak in the East African country.
The index patient was later flown to Switzerland along with her husband.
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