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.

Mohammed Opatola, an operative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Osun State Command, attached to the Iwo Division, has reportedly died after suddenly taking ill at work on Monday.

Conflicting accounts of the events leading to his demise was given by his colleagues while social media users speculated about the cause of death.

A viral WhatsApp post had suggested that Opatola collapsed immediately after receiving a salary alert for October, which, according to some accounts, did not include promotion arrears expected by NSCDC personnel.

However, his colleagues refuted the claim, stating that Opatola did not immediately slump after seeing his salary alert, but rather went about his duties before the illness struck.

One colleague, who preferred to remain anonymous, disclosed to The PUNCH, “We were all disappointed when we saw that the promotion arrears were missing from the salary. Opatola, like the rest of us, was disappointed but didn’t collapse immediately. He went back to his office and performed some tasks before he suddenly took ill.”

The source further explained, “He excused himself to the restroom, but after some time passed and he didn’t come out, we checked on him and found him unresponsive on the floor. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.”

Another colleague speculated that Opatola may have suffered from high blood pressure following the alert, noting that employees from other agencies under the Ministry of Interior had received their arrears alongside the October salary, heightening NSCDC personnel’s hopes.

“He was visibly upset when he saw the alert. We all shared our frustrations, but it seems he took it harder,” the colleague added.

A third colleague mentioned that Opatola had been promoted and decorated with his new rank less than a week before his death, making the missing arrears even more disappointing for him.

“He was hale and hearty when he arrived on Monday. After receiving the alert, he appeared troubled and excused himself to the restroom, where he was later found unconscious,” the source said.

Efforts to get an official response from the Osun NSCDC Command were unsuccessful, as calls to the spokesperson, Kehinde Adeleke went unanswered, and a text message sent to her remained unanswered.