Troops attached to the Forward Operation Base of Operation Safe Haven, stationed in the Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State, have killed five bandits, including their kingpin, Kachalla Saleh.

Our correspondent reports that the incident occurred less than a week after bandits and vigilantes clashed in the Dogon Ruwa community of the council, resulting in four deaths.

A vigilante and youth leader in Wase, Abdullahi Haruna, told newsmen in Jos on Tuesday that the incident happened around 12 noon in Kinashe village, Bashar District, on Monday.

Haruna stated that the bandits, who posed a threat to residents’ lives, were caught off guard by security personnel, allowing for a resistance-free operation.

He said “The village is a bushy area, and residents had already fled before the latest incident, Haruna explained. “Bandits had displaced people from the area, using it as a hiding place. The bandits didn’t expect security personnel to descend upon them at that time, given the area’s nature.”

Residents of Wase, particularly Bashar District, commended the troops for the successful operation.

Our correspondent reports that Wase LGA villages have suffered from banditry for two years, resulting in numerous deaths, including security personnel.

When contacted on the development, the spokesperson of Operation Safe Haven, Maj Samson Zhakom, neither answered calls nor responded to the short message sent to him by our correspondent.

A commercial driver is on the run after causing bodily injuries to an officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority in the Mile 2 area of the state on Tuesday.

The LASTMA spokesperson, Adebayo Taofiq, confirmed the incident in a statement made available to PUNCH Metro on Tuesday.

According to Taofiq, LASTMA operatives had accosted the driver for violating traffic regulations but he resisted arrest.

He noted that in an attempt to evade arrest, the driver sprayed his vehicle and some of the officers who had taken over the vehicle with petrol, set the bus on fire and fled the scene.

Taofiq narrated, “The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority has been made aware of a distressing video showing the driver of a Volkswagen T4 commercial bus, licence plate LSD 355 CK, setting both his vehicle and LASTMA officers ablaze in a brazen attempt to evade arrest.

“The vehicle was intercepted for violating traffic regulations in the Cele inward Mile 2 area.

“In the course of the arrest, the driver and his conductor erupted into a frenzy, resorting to pouring petrol on LASTMA personnel and engaging in hostile confrontations and physical attacks against officers present.”

The LASTMA spokesperson added that the injured officer who sustained severe burns was taken to a nearby hospital for medical attention.

He stressed that the driver and his assistant who perpetrated the assault would be brought to book.

“The injured LASTMA officer, who sustained severe burns, was immediately transported to a nearby hospital for urgent medical treatment.

“The agency strongly urges all commercial and other drivers to comply fully with traffic regulations and respect the authority of LASTMA personnel. LASTMA will not condone any form of violence or intimidation and will take firm and decisive action against those responsible.

He reiterated the agency’s commitment “to preserving order and ensuring the safety of Lagos roads, as stipulated in the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law of 2018.”

PUNCH Metro reported a similar incident on October 10 when some soldiers attached to the Ojo Cantonment Barracks led by a yet-to-be-identified colleague, who was accosted for driving against the traffic around Volks Bus Stop, along the Ojo Iyana Iba Road area of Lagos State stabbed a policeman, Saka Ganiyu, to death.

The soldier, who was not wearing his uniform, while driving an unregistered T4 Volkswagen commercial bus against the traffic, was stopped by policemen on enforcement duty at Volks Bus Stop.

Angered by the action of the policemen, the soldier had reportedly contacted some of his colleagues, who were said to have trooped out of the Ojo Cantonment Barracks and attacked the policemen.

A document chronicling the circumstances surrounding the soldiers’ attack on the policemen indicated that Ganiyu sustained varying degrees of injury during the attack and was rushed to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital for urgent treatment where he reportedly died.

Investigating Police Officer Inspector Elizabeth Osikolu, on Monday, told an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court how a housewife, Omolara Alashe, allegedly forced a 19-year-old lady to sleep with her husband, to bear a child.

Omolara and her husband, Ramoni Lateef, are facing a three-count charge of conspiracy, rape and sexual assault.

NAN reports that the defendants, pleaded not guilty.

The witness, while being led in evidence by the State Counsel, Mr Babajide Boye, told the court that the alleged incident happened sometime in 2022, in Lagos.

Osikolu told the court that the mother of the victim died while they were living at Ojota and the couple offered to accommodate her.

She told the court that the victim said the couple also allegedly abused her physically whenever she made mistakes while living with them.

According to the witness, the first defendant (Omolara) on a particular day, allegedly woke up the 19-year-old in the middle of the night, and stripped her naked while the second defendant (Ramoni) slept with her.

The IPO told the court that her investigation further revealed that the couple had a baby but died sometime in October 2022.

The witness said: “The first defendant has not been able to conceive again after the death of the child.

“So they decided to use the survivor to bear children for him to prevent the husband from getting married again.

“The girl said they were in the sitting room one day when the first defendant started beating her, stripped her naked and inserted her fingers in her vagina.

“After she beat the girl, she threw out her belongings, seized her ATM card, MTN line and the salary she was making at the time to deny her access to her money.”

While being cross-examined by defence counsel, Mr Lekan Egberongbe, the witness maintained that the girl was not lying.

According to her, the first defendant admits it in her statement.

The witness told the court that if the 19-year-old had consented to the sexual assault, she would not have reported it to the Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, DSVA.

“She would not have submitted herself for medical examination at Mirabel centre.

“The girl in question could not resist the man because she was intimidated by the wife,” Osikolu said.

Justice Oshodi adjourned the case to February 3, 2025 for continuation of trial.