The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has recorded significant successes in its ongoing fight against crime, foiling a midnight kidnapping attempt in Byazhin and arresting several high-profile suspects, including bandits who recently flaunted AK-47 rifles on social media.

Acting on credible intelligence, operatives of the Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit stormed a residential area near Paze Hills in Byazhin in the early hours of Thursday and disrupted armed men attempting to break into a building to abduct its occupants. A couple was rescued unharmed during the operation.

The victims expressed relief at the timely intervention by the police.

In a related development, the police arrested three suspected bandits who gained notoriety after appearing in viral social media videos brandishing AK-47 rifles while dressed in military camouflage. The suspects were tracked and apprehended in Runji village, Zuba. Items recovered from them include one AK-47 rifle, eight mobile phones, two jackknives, power banks, and several incriminating photographs and videos.

FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Muhammed Sanusi, who paraded the suspects before journalists, vowed continued aggressive action against criminal elements.

The Command also presented a suspect and his girlfriend over the alleged kidnapping and murder of 22-year-old Emmanuel Chukwuemeka. Police investigations revealed that the suspect lured the victim to a mountainous area in Lokogoma over a dispute involving fraudulent proceeds before allegedly killing him.

In another operation, security operatives arrested a wanted suspect linked to the supply of ammunition to bandits, terrorists, and kidnapping gangs operating in the North Central region and the FCT. Arms and ammunition were recovered during the operation.

Additionally, two suspected “one-chance” robbers were arrested after they allegedly attacked a female commuter along the Giri-Lugbe road.

The CP used the occasion to dismiss social media reports of a recent kidnapping at a school in Gbagalape, describing the claims as false and misleading.

Meanwhile, the FCT Police Command has begun strict enforcement against vehicles with unauthorised tinted glasses across the territory.

The breakthroughs come despite the rainy weather as officers continue to intensify patrols and intelligence-led operations to make the nation’s capital safer.

Armed gunmen stormed a community in Ondo State on Friday, shooting indiscriminately, injuring multiple residents, and abducting the 9-year-old son of a local pastor before fleeing into the bush.

Eyewitnesses described a scene of chaos as the attackers invaded the area in the early hours, firing sporadically at residents. Several people sustained gunshot wounds and were rushed to nearby hospitals for emergency treatment. The motive behind the invasion remains unclear, though sources suggest it may be linked to ongoing security challenges in parts of the state.

The most distressing aspect of the attack was the abduction of the young boy, identified as the son of a prominent pastor in the community. Family members and residents are said to be in shock, with the pastor appealing for the immediate and safe release of his child.

Security operatives have been deployed to the area to track down the gunmen and rescue the abducted child. A manhunt is currently underway, with local vigilantes and police collaborating in the search.

This incident adds to the growing concerns over kidnapping and violent crime in Ondo State and surrounding regions. Community leaders have called on the government to intensify security measures to protect vulnerable residents, especially children.

More updates will follow as the situation develops.

……One Discharged and Acquitted

The Federal High Court in Abuja Nigeria has sentenced four men to death by hanging for carrying out the deadly June 5, 2022 attack on Saint Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State where over 40 worshippers were killed.

‎These are four of the five defendants, who have been standing trial on a nine-count terrorism charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS). They are Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza (25), Al Qasim Idris (20), Jamiu Abdulmalik (26), and Abdulhaleem Idris (25) while the fifth defendant Momoh Otuho Abubakar (47) was discharged and acquitted.
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‎In his verdict, Justice Emeka Nwite convicted the four defendants on all nine counts of committing acts of terrorism in breach of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act citing crimes including membership of a proscribed terrorist group – Al-Shabab (an ISWAP affiliate), conspiracy to commit terrorist act, and kidnapping hostage-taking and for killing the over 40 worshippers.
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‎Justice Nwite held that the prosecution had proved its case against the convicts beyond reasonable doubt. The judge however held that the prosecution failed to prove its case against the fifth defendant.
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‎The prosecution linked the defendants to the Owo attack through witness identifications, phone tracking data, cell tower records, and confessional statements. The suspects, alleged to be members of the Al-Shabaab a terrorist group affiliated to ISWAP. The group operates mainly in Okene, Kogi State. The defendants pleaded not guilty when arraigned in August 2025.
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‎The DSS called 11 witnesses with 23 documents tendered in evidence during its case. These included attack survivors (one of whom testified from a wheelchair after losing both legs and an eye), a Catholic priest who was conducting the Mass, church members, Amotekun security operatives, and DSS investigators with digital forensic expertise.
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Several witnesses testified under protection with coded identities. A total of 23 documents were tendered in evidence by the DSS during the case.
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‎The prosecution, led by counsel Ayodeji Adedipe, had urged the court to convict the defendants and impose the maximum punishment of death by firing squad or hanging, citing the gravity of the offence.
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‎The defence presented its case, with most of the defendants taking the witness stand to testify in their defence.
‎A trial-within-a-trial was conducted over the admissibility of the defendants’ confessional statements, which the defence claimed were obtained under duress.
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‎They claimed they were stripped them, subjected to beatings and torture including electric shocks to their stomach and genitals to force them to admit guilt to the Owo church attack. The DSS operatives allegedly said ‘they must either confess or die.’
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‎The four defendants alleged that they were also promised to pay them handsomely if they indicted the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, as the operational leader of the deadly Owo Church attack.
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‎Justice Emeka Nwite presided over the matter, which had previously faced several delays but progressed steadily in 2025 and 2026.
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‎The Owo church attack remains one of the most heinous acts of terrorism in recent Nigerian history. No group officially claimed responsibility at the time, though suspicions initially pointed toward Islamic State-affiliated factions.
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