Security operatives have apprehended a man strapped with Person Borne Improvised Explosive Device (SPBIED) inside a bank in Plateau.

Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region, said the man was nabbed at a bank in Dadin Kowa town in Jos South LGA of the state.

The publication said the incident occurred on May 13.

Intelligence sources told Makama that the man planned to detonate the explosives at the bank but was spotted by a vigilante operative who raised the alarm.

The publication said after the suspect was apprehended, an angry mob surrounded him and insisted he should be killed.

Makama could not confirm if the suspect is connected to the fighters of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP).

The publication added that the suspect is in the custody of the police and currently undergoing investigation.

Nigeria has been battling insurgency for two decades, with suicide bombings, displacement of entire communities and kidnapping for ransom by the terrorists, recorded in that span.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said about 83 children — mostly girls — were used as human bombs in 2017 alone.

Troops of Operation Whirl Punch operating in the North-West zone have killed four bandits, including the notorious Dongon Bangaje, during fighting patrols in Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

According to a statement by the Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs Samuel Aruwan, the troops first conducted the special fighting patrol over the weekend at Tumburku village. Then they projected the same to Sabon Sara, both in Giwa LGA.

He explained that the troops acting on credible intelligence, sighted bandits fleeing the latter location, and engaged the criminals in hot pursuit. During the process, the troops killed two of the bandits. They recovered a range of items including a motorcycle, a mobile phone, gas lighters, tobacco, assorted charms, and a polythene bag containing petrol.

In a similar operation conducted at Basurfe village, South-West of Kindandan, the troops fought through an ambush and neutralized two other bandits and also
dislodged a camp serving as a treatment area for the insurgents.

Recoveries made at the location included two AK-47 rifles, one pump action rifle, three magazines, 16 rounds of ammunition, one Improvised Explosive Device (IED), two radios, and one motorcycle, as well as cigarettes, drugs, and medical accessories.

According to the security report, one of the bandits killed in the operations was a notorious bandit leader known as Dogo Bangaje who was eliminated alongside a close associate yet to be identified.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, will today, arraign former minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, his brother, Ahmad Sirika and a company, Enginos Nigeria Limited, over alleged N10 billion airport contract fraud.

The arraignment comes barely a week after the anti-graft agency slammed similar charges on Hadi Sirika, his daughter, Fatima, and son-in-law, Jalal and another company, Al Buraq.

In particular, the former minister is to explain to Justice Belgore of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, why he awarded the huge contracts to his brother and company and conferred proceeds of crimes to his family without worrying about the crime and why he, his brother and the company should not be penalised in accordance with relevant laws of Nigeria.

Part of the charges reads: “That you Hadi Sirika, while being the Minister of Aviation, on or about August 18, 2022, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this court, did use your position to confer unfair advantage upon Enginos Nigeria Limited whose alter ego, Ahmad Sirika is your biological brother, by using your position to influence the award to them, the contract for the construction of a Terminal Building at Katsina Airport for the sum of N1.345billion and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under the same section.

Count two reads: “That you Hadi Sirika, while being Minister of Aviation, on or about 3d November, 2022, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this court, did use your position to confer unfair advantage upon Enginos Nigeria Limited whose alter ego, Ahmad Sirika is your blood brother, by using your position to influence the award to them, the contract for the establishment of Fire Truck Maintenance and Refurbishment Centre at Katsina Airport for the sum of N3.811billion and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under the same section.

Count three reads: “That you Hadi Sirika, while being Minister of Aviation, on or about 5 May 2023, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this court, did use your position to confer unfair advantage upon Enginos Nigeria Limited whose alter ego, Ahmad Sirika is your blood brother, by using your position to influence the award to them, the contract for the Procurement and Installation of Lift and Air Conditioners and Power Generators for Aviation House, Abuja for the sum of N615.195million and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under the same section.

Count four reads: “That you Hadi Sirika and Enginos Nigeria Limited between August, 2022 and May, 2023 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this court, had possession of an aggregate sum of N2.337billion, which sum you knew indirectly represented the proceeds of criminal conducts of Ahmad Sirika, who was the Minister of Aviation at the time (to wit: use of office or position for gratification in respect of the said amount), and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 17 (b) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004 and punishable under the same section; and two other charges.