News
Governor weeps, as terrorists kill soldiers, police in night ambush
It took everything for Nasir Idris, Governor of Kebbi State, not to break into tears in public on Wednesday morning after witnessing the devastation caused in the state by terrorists, who ambushed a group of security operatives on duty in parts of the state, resulting in the killing of nine soldiers and one policeman.
The attack was said to have been carried out on Tuesday night in a deadly ambush in Giro Masa community in the Shanga Local Government Area of the state Kebbi State, where the security operatives, who had responded to a distress call, were suddenly targeted by the assailants.
Reports say the security men who had gone to flush out the gunmen said to have been operating in the area for some time, fell into an ambush after tracing the hoodlums to a construction company yard, before meeting their bitter ends, during the incident in which two military trucks were also set on fire.
Palpably devastated, Idris, who visited the mortuary and the accident and emergency unit of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Birnin Kebbi, where victims of the attack were taken to, told reporters that the attack was barbaric.
Assuring that the state government would cover the medical bills of the injured and provide support to the families of the deceased security personnel, he wailed: “This is a sad incident. These are the soldiers who protect the lives of Kebbi residents, yet they found themselves in this situation. The Kebbi State Government will not relent in its efforts to protect the lives of its citizens.”
The governor after praying for the souls of the deceased and reiterated his administration’s commitment to strengthening security across the state, later proceeded to the scene of the attack for an on-the-spot assessment.
There have been persistent attacks by bandits and terrorist groups across northern Nigeria, with several incidents involving fatalities among troops.
On June 25, 2025, the Nigerian Army confirmed that 17 soldiers were killed during a fierce gun battle with suspected bandits in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State.
The troops had responded to an attack on the Bangi community when they were engaged by heavily armed fighters, resulting in significant casualties.
In the North-East, attacks by insurgent groups have also persisted, as on multiple occasions in 2025, fighters linked to Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province carried out ambushes on military formations in Borno State, leading to the deaths of soldiers.
One such incident occurred in late 2025, when troops were killed during a coordinated raid on a military base.
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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Chidinma Ijioma
March 25, 2026 at 7:35 pm
He who fetches ants infested firewood owes the lizard a condolence visit.
They invited the bandits to deal with whosoever they had in mind and as their plans failed, little did they know it will backfire on them.
Our hearts go to the gallant security personnel who lost their lives. May God rest their souls