Crime
Zamfara residents pay millions for safety
It was learned that on Sunday, April 20, bandits issued a fresh demand of N60 million from residents of Dankurmi village in Maru LGA.

Residents across Zamfara State are being extorted by armed bandits who demand levies running into hundreds of millions of naira in exchange for allowing the people to remain in their homes.
Daily Trust reports that the levies, enforced under the threat of abduction, violence, or death, have left communities in a state of fear and financial ruin.
Since January 2025, it was gathered that over N500 million has been paid by various communities to different bandit groups in a desperate bid to avoid attacks.
In January alone, the late bandit kingpin, Isuhu Yellow, imposed a N172.7 million levy on 25 villages, including demands for agricultural produce.
For instance, Gijinzama village was charged N8.5 million, Dakolo N5 million plus 20 bags of beans, Kibari, Kunchin Kalgo N20 million, Sungawa N15 million, and Yalwa N2.7 million, among others.
Shortly after, another notorious bandit leader, Dogo Gide, demanded N100 million from 23 communities in Tsafe LGA, prompting mass displacement.
The affected communities included Kunchin-Kalgo (N20m), Sungawa (N15m), Rakyabu (N15m), and Kwaren Mai-Saje (N10m).
It was learned that on Sunday, April 20, bandits issued a fresh demand of N60 million from residents of Dankurmi village in Maru LGA.
Locals say that they were given until Wednesday to comply or face dire consequences. Kidnappings had already commenced before the deadline.
Business
Lagos State Enforcement Team Busts Illegal Abattoir in Agege, Arrests Operators

The Lagos State enforcement squad of the MOE&WR led by KAI operatives on Wednesday burst an illegal abbatoir which was being operated at a private residence at Succo road directly opposite the RRS Barracks and LASTMA Yard in Oko Oba, Agege, arresting some of those found slaughtering animals for public consumption in the location.
The operation followed a tip-off from a whistle blower.

“The enforcement team said, the contaminated meat from cows and goats have been confiscated to prevent it from entering the food chain”.
“This action of the operators of the abbatoir is in defiance of the closure of the Oko Oba Abbatoir and poses great health dangers and environmental risks to the law abiding residents of the area”.
“We need to make it clear that such disregard for public health and sanitation will not be tolerated in Lagos State” .
“Every Government’s primary responsibility is the protection of lives and properties and we will not shirk that responsbbility.”
“We will continue to ensure that only safe and approved public facilities are allowed to operate within our communities.”the statement reads.
Crime
BREAKING: Scores feared dead as daredevil terrorists engage Soldiers in Kaduna, Niger

Scores of daredevil terrorists and some military personnel have been killed following a gun battle in Niger and Kaduna States.
Nigerian Army Headquarters made the disclosure in a statement posted on its official X handle on Wednesday.
The statement said the operations were carried out in Kwanar Dutse Mairiga and Boka, Niger State, and Aungwan Turai, Chikun Local Government Area (LGA) of Kaduna State.
The daredevil terrorists had launched an unprovoked attack on the aforementioned areas.
According to the statement, in response to the attacks, “land and air component troops launched several counter-attacks that eliminated scores of bandits in the encounters.
“Sadly, some gallant warriors paid the supreme price in the day-long battles, while four wounded in-action troops are currently receiving treatment for their gunshot wounds.
More updates later.”
Crime
JUST IN: Russia attacks Ukraine, kill 11

Russian missiles on Tuesday crashed into schools, hospitals and kindergartens in central Ukraine, killing at least 11 and wounding dozens more in a region coming under mounting pressure.
The attacks came as President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the Netherlands to meet with allies on the sidelines of the NATO defence alliance summit.
He is expected to meet with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday to discuss more sanctions on Russia and arms procurement, a senior Ukrainian source told AFP.
Emergency services in the Dnipropetrovsk region, now threatened by Russian battlefield advances, published photos of rescuers helping civilians covered in blood after the attack.
“This is not a fight where it’s hard to choose a side. Standing with Ukraine means defending life,” Zelensky said after the attack.
Ukraine’s foreign minister said the strikes amounted to a “rejection of peace” from Russia, which has rejected US and Ukrainian ceasefire proposals.
“It is a matter of credibility for allies to step up pressure on Moscow,” Andriy Sybiga said.
Ukrainian police said 11 residents of Dnipro were killed and two more were left dead in the nearby town of Samar. More than 100 people were wounded, according to a statement.
Police added that an administrative building, shops, educational facilities and a children’s hospital were damaged.
– Toddler killed –
Russian forces, which invaded Ukraine just over three years ago, recently claimed to have reached the border of the central industrial Dnipropetrovsk region, to gain a foothold there for the first time of the war.
The attacks on Dnipro city, the region’s capital, came just hours after deadly overnight drone attacks.
Three people including a toddler were killed earlier in the northeastern Sumy region that borders Russia during the barrage, local officials said.Oleg Grygorov, head of the Sumy region’s military administration, said a five-year-old boy was pulled from the rubble of a destroyed house.
“The strike took the lives of people from different families. They all lived on the same street. They went to sleep in their homes but the Russian drones interrupted their sleep — forever,” he said.
One man died next to his spouse in a Ukrainian drone strike on Russia’s western border region of Belgorod, the region’s governor said, adding that the woman survived the attack.
Another drone had targeted a residential building in Moscow overnight, wounding two people, including a pregnant woman, the local authorities said.
Russia occupies around a fifth of Ukraine and claims to have annexed four Ukrainian regions as its own since launching its invasion in 2022 — in addition to Crimea, which it captured in 2014.Kyiv has accused Moscow of deliberately sabotaging peace talks to prolong its full-scale offensive and to seize more territory.
AFP
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