In Zamfara State’s Maradun Local Government Area, four bandits were killed by Operation Hadarin Daji soldiers on Friday.

A trustworthy source told Sunday PUNCH that this was true, adding that the troops stationed at the Forward Operation Base in Faru village were informed by the bandits that Bagabuzu village was about to be attacked.

The brave troops responded quickly to the information and mobilized to the area, where they engaged the armed bandits in a gunfight and prevented them from entering the villages, the speaker continued. The encounter resulted in the neutralization of four bandits while others fled with gunshot wounds. The troops also found one FN rifle, 123 rounds of specialized ammunition, and one general purpose machine gun while repelling the attack.

According to him, in a recently organized operation, the troops cleared bandit camps at the villages of Mutuwa, Guda Tudu, Kawar, Dantayawa, Gidan Kare, Mahuta, and Gyado in the states of Zamfara and Sokoto, respectively.
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In Oben, a border town between the states of Edo and Delta, nine tourists have reportedly been abducted by suspected gunmen.

On Friday evening, the incident along Jesse-Oben Road left the neighborhood in a state of panic.

According to Mr. Obehe Adika, a hunter who claimed to have witnessed the incident, gunshots and tyre screeching noises could be heard coming from the bush where he was hunting at around 9 o’clock.

He further claimed to have witnessed a Toyota Hiace bus carrying passengers traveling to Delta State being attacked and kidnapped by gunmen in a Hilux van loaded with them.

“They were dragging the people, I saw (the gunmen). The armed men numbered five or six in total. In their van, they escorted the nine passengers.

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“The driver was included as well. All of them were taken. I was the one who alerted the community head and organized youths to start a search, but they haven’t been located yet,” he continued.

It was claimed that one of the victims was a 24-year-old, as-yet-unidentified daughter of a newspaper vendor.

A N10 million ransom was reportedly demanded by the kidnappers in a phone call to the distraught vendor who has not been named.

The vendor has therefore asked the governors of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori, and his counterpart in Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, for assistance because he will not be able to raise the required amount.

The area where the incident occurred was under the control of the Edo State Police Command, according to Edafe Bright, the public relations officer for the Delta State Police, who was contacted on Saturday.

But the PPRO for Edo State, Chidi Nwabuzor, claimed that the incident was under investigation and that the passengers would soon be saved and the offenders would be caught.

Following a threat made public in a Facebook post warning of an upcoming attack on a church in the state by certain yet-to-be-identified individuals, the Christian Association of Nigeria, Osun State Chapter has encouraged churches in the state to mount guard and observe security measures.

The Saint Mary Catholic Church in Osun was allegedly the subject of a Sunday attack, according to a screenshot of the Facebook post uploaded under the alias “Anonymous” that our correspondent came across on Saturday.

A church by the name of St. Mary Catholic Church in the Osun region was once again the victim of attacks, according to the Facebook post. It is necessary to explain the situation to those who are close to this church. We request that everyone spread the word to the church’s leadership by the stipulated deadline of July 23.

We won’t be pleased if this is disregarded, just as the OWO slaughter was, as the St. Francis was. There would be many of victims. Once more, we issue a warning.

Speaking alongside the Osun CAN chairman, Rev. John Adeleke, the minister advised churches around the state to follow safety precautions and report any suspicious activity to security personnel.

The clergy added that security consultations with a few churches with names similar to those in the Facebook post had taken place in order to examine the situation and develop suitable safeguards for attendees’ safety.

He continued, “We reviewed the situation in discussions with various churches. Security personnel are on top of the situation, therefore we urge churches around the state to take precautions and report any suspicious activity to the security personnel.

Kehinde Longe, the state’s commissioner of police, visited some churches in Osogbo on Saturday and spoke with their leadership about how to improve security, a very trustworthy source in CAN who wished to remain anonymous told our correspondent.

As of the time this report was filed, attempts to reach Yemisi Opalola, the spokesperson for the Osun Police Command, on her mobile phone were unsuccessful.

However, a high security source who asked to remain anonymous claimed that members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Department of State Security had been sent to religious institutions in the state.

The spokesperson for the Osun NSCDC, Kehinde Adeleke, said in response to a question about what the command was doing to prevent an attack in any part of the state: “The Commandant, Sunday Agboola has given a marching order to all Area Commanders, Divisional officers across the state to deploy officers to all worship centres and patrol teams have also been deployed throughout the state.”