Crime
YELWATA KILLINGS: DSS Files Charges Against Suspects over Benue Attacks
The Department of State Services (DSS) on Thursday filed six separate charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja against terror suspects responsible for deadly attacks in Yelwata village, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.
The assaults left numerous people dead and others injured.
The charges involve nine suspects apprehended through intelligence-led operations by DSS operatives. However, only two of these suspects were charged in court on four counts related to the Yelwata massacre.
The accused, Haruna Adamu and Muhammad Abdullahi, both from Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, alongside others still at large, are alleged to have carried out attacks on Abinsi and Yelwata villages on June 13, 2025.
Their actions violate Section 12 of the Terrorism Prevention Act, 2022.
The two suspects are accused of conspiring with Musa Beniyon, Bako Malowa, Ibrahim Tunga, Asara Ahnadu, Legu Musa, Adamu Yale, Boddi Ayuba, Pyeure Damina, and others still at large, to execute the Yelwata attacks.
According to the DSS charges, the defendants knowingly concealed critical information about the planned terrorist attacks and killings in Abinsi and Yelwata between June 13 and 14, which could have aided in preventing the acts and apprehending the perpetrators.
Filed by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Muhammad Abubakar, on behalf of the federal government, the charges further accuse the defendants of preparing to commit acts of terrorism with the named co-conspirators, in violation of Section 29 of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2022.
In a separate charge, two more suspects, Terkende Ashuwa and Amos Alede from Guma Local Government Area, were charged with three counts for allegedly conducting reprisal attacks against terror suspects involved in the Abinsi and Yelwata incidents.
In case file FHC/ABJ/CR/448/2025, the pair are accused of attending and participating in meetings that led to acts of terrorism causing destruction of private property and economic loss, including the death of 12 cattle in Ukpam village, Benue State.
This is contrary to Section 12 of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act.
The second count alleges that in July 2025, they conspired during a meeting in Daudu town, Guma LGA, to carry out terrorist acts together with others still at large, violating Section 26 of the same Act.
The third count claims they knowingly supported and received material assistance in the form of locally made guns and an AK-47 rifle from one Alhaji Uba to commit terrorism, leading to property destruction and cattle loss in Ukpam village, punishable under Section 13 of the Terrorism Prevention Act.
Additionally, Halima Haliru Umar, a 32-year-old woman from Faskari Local Government Area, Katsina State, faces a four-count charge for concealing information about Alhaji Sani, a suspected gun runner, bandit, and kidnapper.
Her actions allegedly prevented the timely apprehension of criminal elements, violating Section 6 of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act.
She is also accused of aiding terrorism by transporting 302 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition to bandits in July 2025, contrary to Section 13 of the Act.
In another case, two elderly men—75-year-old Nanbol Tali and Timnan Manjo—face four-count charges for illegal possession and trading of firearms.
They are accused of buying and selling two locally fabricated AK-47 rifles without licenses for 3 million naira, violating Sections 9 and 27 of the Firearms Act, 2024.
They allegedly possessed one AK-47 rifle in Mangu LGA, Plateau State, and purchased three long-range revolver rifles at 60,000 naira each from an individual named Chomo, intending to resell them to bandits.
In a related development, Danjuma Antu of Jos North, Plateau State, was charged on five counts for unlawful possession of two locally fabricated pistols capable of firing 9mm ammunition, contrary to Section 3 and punishable under Section 27 of the Firearms Act, 2024.
Similarly, Silas Iduh Oloche of Agatu LGA, Benue State, faces six counts of unlawful possession of 18 firearms (including grenades) without licenses, violating Sections 3 and 27 of the Firearms Act.
He was reportedly found with 683 live rounds of 7.62mm ammunition on August 2, 2025, contrary to Section 8 of the same Act.
No trial date has yet been scheduled for the suspects charged on Thursday, August 28, 2025.
The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested Faisal Abdulrasheed Maina, the fugitive son of former Pension Reform Task Team chairman Abdulrasheed Maina, and handed him over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Security sources said Faisal, who had been on the run since 2020, was trailed and apprehended by DSS operatives in the Karsana area of Abuja after intelligence indicated he had secretly returned to the country.
Faisal was earlier prosecuted by the EFCC on a three-count charge of money laundering and conspiracy. He jumped bail and fled the country. His trial continued in his absence, and in 2021 Justice Okon Abang convicted and sentenced him to 14 years’ imprisonment.
The court ordered that he be arrested wherever found in Nigeria and remanded in a correctional centre to serve his sentence. It also directed that, if located abroad, the Federal Government should take lawful steps to secure his extradition.
A source said the handover to the EFCC would facilitate enforcement of the court’s judgment and ensure Faisal serves his prison term.
Three others escape with gunshot injuries…..
Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), the military and the police have arrested five suspected members of a criminal gang allegedly responsible for the abduction of 20 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Imo State.
The suspects were apprehended during a series of intelligence-led operations carried out between October 10 and 14 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and Aba South Local Government Area of Abia State. Three other suspects escaped during the raids with varying degrees of gunshot injuries.
The 20 corps members were abducted by armed men along the Owerri–Onitsha Expressway in Imo State on October 1, 2026 — Nigeria’s 66th Independence Day — while travelling to their orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states. They were rescued on October 7 during a joint security operation at Amakohia Ubi Village.
Security sources described the latest arrests as a major breakthrough in the effort to dismantle the network behind the abduction and bring the perpetrators to justice.
“This is a huge sigh of relief. Security agencies have been on a sustained manhunt for the abductors, and we are elated that they have been captured. We strongly believe they will be charged to court by the DSS and the corps members will get justice,” a security source said.
Crime
‘Stop Giving Testimony In Church, And Why’ – Police IRT Commander
The commander cautioned against assuming that everyone attending church had good intentions, urging worshippers to exercise discretion when sharing sensitive personal information in public gatherings.
A commander of the Nigeria Police Force Intelligence Response Team (IRT) has cautioned churchgoers against publicly disclosing details of their personal lives and achievements during church services.
The commander gave the warning during an IRT briefing on TV Platinum on Thursday, particularly cautioning worshippers attending evening services at churches on the outskirts of towns.
He said publicly sharing personal achievements before a congregation whose intentions were unknown could make worshippers vulnerable to criminal attacks, particularly when returning home after night services.
“After closing from evening service, such act that they plan will be implemented. You can’t go to a church located on the outskirts, and you go to evening prayer, and close in the evening, coming down to your home, after making testimony of what you have achieved in life,” he said.
The commander cautioned against assuming that everyone attending church had good intentions, urging worshippers to exercise discretion when sharing sensitive personal information in public gatherings.
“It doesn’t conform with common sense and rationality in the midst of gathering of people watching you, thinking that they are all men of God. No. Everybody has his own motive of going to the church,” he said.
The commander further called on churches that hold evening services to strengthen their security arrangements, particularly by monitoring access routes and exits to protect congregants before and after worship.
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