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Bandits allegedly deploy helicopter, kill 32 in Southern Kaduna

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Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has carpeted the Defence Headquarters over its failure to deploy the 12 newly acquired Super Tucano aircraft in the North-West seven months after a Federal High Court designated bandits as terrorists.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, slammed the military hierarchy, especially the Nigerian Air Force for its tardiness in dealing with terrorists terrorising the North-West.

The group said while the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Air Force are condoning the heinous killings by bandits, the marauders, now emboldened by the inaction of the government, have moved on to allegedly deploy sophisticated weapons, including an attack helicopter.

According to reports, terrorists in a helicopter attacked residents of the Adara community in the southern part of Kaduna State on Sunday and killed over 30 persons.

The National President of Adara Development Association, Awemi Maisamari, said the carnage was allegedly carried out by Fulani terrorists who aside from shooting sporadically from the helicopter, were aided by assailants on the ground who came on 150 motorcycles carrying three armed persons each.

“The death toll this morning (Wednesday) is 32, as villagers comb surrounding bushes for more bodies. Seven were found this morning decomposing,” he said, adding that an Evangelical Church Winning All in the area was destroyed.

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Reacting, HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “The killing of scores in Adara in southern Kaduna is unfortunate and totally avoidable if the military doesn’t ignore intelligence and telltale signs.”

HURIWA sympathised with the bereaved and prayed for their consolation and comfort.

“However, it is important to note that this new dimension of a helicopter being used by Fulani terrorists is shocking but not unexpected as there have been bold signs written all over the place going by the chronology of the sophisticated terrorism that banditry by Fulani bloodletters has evolved into.

“It is ironic that the terrorists are now operating on air, shelling houses and killing innocent residents when the military who should decimate the terrorist bandits through air raids have failed to bombard them for reason best known to them.

“Even the Kaduna State Governor indicted the military for failing to act on intelligence regarding the precise locations of these Fulani terrorists even when the military is monitoring their telephone conversations and now they are on the air. Who gave them the helicopters?

“Earlier in February 2021, a controversial Islamic cleric and bandit-sympathiser, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, disclosed that bandits operating in the northern states forests are planning to acquire anti-aircraft missiles to repeal attacks by the military. He said, ‘They (bandits) are now trying to buy missiles, anti-aircraft missiles. This is already developing into a full-blown insurgency

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“In March 2022, terrorists bombed a moving Abuja-Kaduna train and killed scores while others were kidnapped. On July 18, 2021, bandits shot down a Nigerian Air Force fighter jet on the border between Zamfara and Katsina states.

“Yet, the military and the sleeping regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), have gone on full somnolence and failed to treat the mass killers of innocent citizens as they are supposed to be treated despite that they have killed thousands of innocent souls in Kaduna in the last one year.”

HURIWA recalled that a frustrated Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, in March, after the train attack, accused the military of knowing the location of the bandits wreaking havoc in the state but was refusing to bomb their hideouts.

Commenting further, HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “The dastard killing by Fulani terrorists who operated from a helicopter in Adara was aided by the conspiracies of inactions by President Muhammadu Buhari who did not also take action against Fulani terrorists that shot down a military jet in Zamfara despite a court declaration that the bandits are terrorists.

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“The rampaging mass murderers have declared full war on the Nigerian state yet the military and the government are docile as they are wont.

“Last Sunday, the insurgents stormed a Catholic church in Owo, Ondo State and killed over 40 innocent worshippers in an unprovoked attack. Yet, the President and his cabal keep treating Fulani terrorists as sacred cows that should not be touched.

“With the Owo genocide and the Adara mass killing, HURIWA calls on the Defence Headquarters to swiftly deploy the 12 Super Tucano fighter jets on the bandits terrorising the Nigerian state. The court has already declared them as terrorists and they fit into the United States’ categorization as those to suffer from the heat of the fighter jets.

“Then, why the delayed almost eight months after? Isn’t this complicit that the military doesn’t want to deal with the criminal and mindless terrorists as el-Rufai noted in his March outburst? Should all Nigerians be slain because the President is Fulani as the killer bandits? Enough!”

 

 

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Two killed as fuel-laden tanker collides with truck in Lagos

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Two people were confirmed dead following an early morning collision between a fuel-laden tanker and a tipper truck on the Lekki–Epe Expressway, Sangotedo area of Lagos state.

In a statement on Saturday, Margaret Adeseye, controller-general of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, said the accident occurred in the early hours of the day, prompting officers to rush to the scene.

“It was reported that a speeding 20-tonne tipper truck from the Epe end rammed into a stationary 30-tonne gas tanker that failed to pull over from the highway,” the statement reads.

Adeseye said the collision sparked a fire that spread to three warehouses and 10 roadside shops, including a gym and a generator house, before it was eventually brought under control.

She added that a Total petrol filling station, fully loaded with a 33,000-litre PMS tanker, narrowly escaped a major explosion.

“After the blaze was extinguished, three Sienna buses, one Toyota Corolla, and a forklift parked within the affected area were recovered. Tragically, the tipper truck driver and his assistant, both adult males, were burnt beyond recognition, while the gas tanker driver escaped unhurt,” Adeseye said.

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The agency said that efforts are ongoing to remove the remains of both trucks from the highway, though normal traffic has largely resumed at the scene.

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Cocaine trafficking: Court convicts, fines 10 Filipinos $6m

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The federal high court in Lagos has convicted 10 Filipino sailors and their merchant vessel of trafficking 20 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Apapa seaport.

The sailors were arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in November 2025 at Apapa seaport.

The vessel, MV Nord Bosporus, with registration number 9760110, arrived in Nigeria from Santos in Brazil.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said the defendants pleaded guilty to the charges and entered a plea bargain agreement.

The anti-drug agency had disclosed that its officers discovered the “Class A drug” buried under the ship’s cargo on Sunday, November 16, 2025.

The NDLEA arraigned the sailors and the vessel on a four-count charge.

The defendants are Eugene Quinos Corpuz; Mark Joseph Jardiniano; Alexis Navidad Evarrola; Francis Gerard Niones Carpio; Franz Jude Mayran; Mahinay Junniel Lagura; Mario Ganiban Malvar; Hormachuelos Lordito Guivencan; Joshua Emmanuel Hufanda; and Edwin Baltazar Reyes.

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In his judgment, Ayokunle Faji, the trial judge, found the vessel guilty for an offence under section 25 of the NDLEA Act.

The judge ordered the vessel to pay the sum of N100,000 penalty for the offence and a restitution in the sum of N5.3 million to the federal government.

The judge convicted three principal officers of the vessel who are the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants. They were asked to pay N100,000 each and a restitution of $100,000 each to the federal government.

After conviction, the judge ordered the 5th to 11th defendants to pay N100,000 each in addition to a restitution of $50,000 each.

According to the NDLEA, the total money to be paid to the federal government by the vessel and the 10 sailors is $6 million and N1.1million as restitution and penalty.

Reacting to the judgment, Mohammed Buba Marwa, NDLEA chairman, said the conviction of the vessel and its crew members is a “lesson to international drug cartels and their local collaborators that Nigeria’s territorial waters are no longer a playground for the illicit narcotics trade”.

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“Let this judgment be an unambiguous signal to every shipping line, vessel owner, and sailor worldwide that if you turn your ships into floating warehouses for illicit drugs, you will not only lose your freedom but also your assets,” Marwa said.

“We have moved beyond mere seizures; we are now hitting the syndicates where it hurts most, their pockets and their operational assets.”

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VIDEO: Man caught trying to lure child hawker for sex with ₦1,000

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A man has been caught on video while allegedly attempting to lure a young girl hawking avocados with ₦1,000 for sexual purposes.

The unfortunate incident, which surfaced in a viral video, was shared by content creator LordZeus in a post shared on IG on Monday, who confronted the suspect.

When questioned, the man denied the allegation and claimed he was the girl’s father.

But the child contradicted him, stating that he approached her and asked her to follow him to a secluded place so they could “touch body,” promising to give her ₦1,000. She added that when she refused, the man brought out the cash in an attempt to persuade her.

During the confrontation, some bystanders pleaded on behalf of the suspect, claiming he was mentally unstable and alleging that the girl was not the first child he had approached.

Reacting, LordZeus challenged the defence, questioning why alleged mental illness should excuse such behaviour toward a minor.

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He also used the moment to caution parents against sending young girls out to hawk, noting that female child hawkers are often

He wrote, “Parents please, no matter how hard life gets, do not allow your girl child especially underage to hawk on the streets alone. Even If they must hawk, hawk alongside them.

“They are constantly at risk of se*xual harassment, and many of them will never speak up. I’ve hawked before, so I know exactly what life on the street is like.

“Imagine if this man was able to manipulate the little girl with just 1,000 naira , this will be unimaginable.

“Ihe na-eme nu o. Let’s do everything possible to protect our girl children. Their safety and dignity must come first before any other thing. It can only get better ”

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