Metro
Police foil two kidnap attempts, rescue 20 victims in Katsina
The Katsina State Police Command has foiled two separate kidnap attempts in Jibia and Faskari Local Government Areas of the state.
The command also rescued 20 kidnapped victims during the operations on Saturday in these areas.
Briefing newsmen on Sunday, the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Abubakar Sadiq, said the first incident occurred on December 7th, 2024, at about 19:00 hours at Kwanar Makera along the Katsina–Magamar Jibia road in Jibia LGA.
A group of armed bandits, wielding dangerous weapons such as AK-47 rifles, opened fire on a moving vehicle, attempting to abduct the occupants.
“However, operatives of the command attached to the Jibia Divisional Police Headquarters, acting on a tip-off, swiftly responded and engaged the bandits in a gun duel, forcing them to abandon their mission and flee the scene with gunshot injuries. All ten occupants of the vehicle were successfully rescued unharmed.
“In a similar incident, on the same date at about 20:30 hours at Marabar Bangori, along the Funtua–Gusau road in Faskari LGA, suspected armed bandits laid an ambush on a motor vehicle carrying passengers. The command’s operatives, alerted to the situation, quickly mobilised and stormed the scene, engaging the bandits in a fierce gun duel. Due to superior firepower, the bandits abandoned their heinous plan and fled the scene, with all the passengers successfully rescued.
“Unfortunately, one of the rescued victims was rushed to the hospital due to severe assault inflicted on him by the assailants. The victim is currently responding to medical treatment.
“The Commissioner of Police, Katsina State Command, CP Aliyu Abubakar Musa, psc†, while commending the gallantry and professionalism displayed by the officers, charged them to sustain the tempo in the ongoing fight against all forms of crime and criminality in the state, reiterating the command’s commitment to ensuring the safety and security of the people of the state,” Sadiq said.
A 37-year-old woman, Linda Stephen, on Tuesday, approached a Kaduna Customary Court, seeking divorce over her husband, Felix Stephen’s excessive sexual demands.
In her petition, Mrs Stephen, a resident of Ungwan Sunday in Kaduna, also accused her husband of beating her whenever she rejected his sexual advances. They have been married for six years.
She told the court that she was no longer interested in the marriage as she can no longer cope with the husband’s excessive demand for sex.
“I urge the court to dissolve this marriage because I can’t stand his excessive sexual urge. He likes sex too much, and I can’t bear it.
“Most times, he would have sex with me from midnight till early hours of the morning. Even when I am crying, he will not stop.
“It has been three months since I moved out of his house, his relatives have been pleading with me to go back to him, but they do not know what I am facing,” she said.
She further said that her husband does not control himself whenever he needed sex, and that whenever she refused his sexual advances, he would beat her up, even in front of their two kids.
‘I’m ready to control my urge’ -Husband
Stephen, in his response, told the court that he is in love with his wife.
He pleaded with the court to help him pacify her, and not to grant her wish.
Stephen said he had been pleading with her wife not to seek for divorce, as he was now ready to control his sexual urge.
“I took my uncles and friends to her parents house to plead with her. But she refused to listen to us instead she walked out on us,’’ Stephen said.
He further pleaded with the court to give him time to sort things out and reconcile with his wife.
The judge, John Dauda, adjourned the matter until May 6 for a feedback and outcome of the reconciliation, while advising them to maintain peace.
The Oyo State Police Command has rescued 84 Congolese from a human trafficking syndicate operating in Ibadan, the state capital.
The victims were allegedly held captive for an unknown period in a building located in the Orogun area of Ibadan.
Sunday PUNCH gathered that the victims were trafficked to Nigeria under the pretence of providing employment opportunities for them.
According to reports, the human traffickers had extorted large sums of money, reportedly in US dollars, from the victims’ families and relatives as part of their scheme to lure the victims into the country.
In a video shared by Channels TV, the rescued individuals, including a baby, were seen being escorted to police vans and buses.
The victims were later transported to the Police Headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, where they are currently being held while investigations continue.
However, attempts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer of Oyo State Command, Adewale Osifeso, for comment on the development were unsuccessful, as calls and messages to his phone were not responded to at the time of this report.
A tragic accident on the Oyo-Ogbomoso road in Oyo State has claimed the lives of several students who were on their way to sit for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination.
In a video clip seen by SaharaReporters, the incident occurred on the morning of Saturday. It involved a commercial vehicle conveying the students to a JAMB centre in Ogbomoso.
Eyewitnesses at the scene said the crash happened when the vehicle had a brake failure.
“Fatal accident claimed the life of the students that were going to write JAMB in OGBOMOSO on OYO road, Oyo State,” the video was captioned.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Oyo State Command, Adewale Osifeso has not responded to calls and messages confirming the report.
SaharaReporters reported that JAMB said it arrested 27 impersonators in the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
JAMB had noted the 27 impersonators apprehended had been handed over to the Nigerian police for immediate prosecution.
The board also announced that it delisted four Computer-Based Test, CBT centres that had failed to meet the stringent technical standards required for the UTME.
JAMB named the delisted centres as Adventure Associate, Behind Sheshe Supermarket, Off Hadejia Road, Kano, Kano State; Saadatu Rimi College of Education, Zaria Road, Naibawa, Kano, Kano State; Penta M & F Technical Services Ltd, Centre 2, 96km Sokoto-Jega Road, Tambuwal and Penta M & F Technical Services Ltd, Centre 1, 96km Sokoto-Jega Road, Tambuwal.
“While JAMB commends the 883 centres that have demonstrated exceptional performance, it unequivocally warns that any centre which failed the ethical or technical standards , regardless of ownership, will be blacklisted,” JAMB said in a statement on Friday by its spokesman, Fabian Benjamin.
“Candidates who were previously scheduled to take their exams at the delisted centres are urged to urgently reprint their examination notification slips to access their new centres and rescheduled dates. We regret any inconvenience this may cause, but we will not tolerate excuses by candidates who fail to reprint their slip to get their new schedules,” it said.
The board revealed that “As of Friday, 25th April, 2025, over 900,000 candidates have successfully completed the UTME out of the 2,083,600 registered for the 2025 examination.”
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