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Vigilantes Kill Over 100 Bandits In Zamfara

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Vigilantes Kill Over 100 Bandits In Zamfara

Government-sponsored vigilantes in northwest Nigeria killed more than 100 gang members in a gun battle earlier this week, a local official said late Wednesday.

For years, heavily armed criminal gangs locally known as “bandits” have been intensifying attacks in rural areas northwest and central Nigeria with little state presence, killing thousands and conducting kidnappings for ransom.

Although bandits have no ideological leanings and are motivated by financial gains, their increasing alliance with jihadists from the northeast has been a source of concern for authorities and security analysts.

Members of Zamfara Civilian Protection Guard (CPG), a state-backed militia, stormed the stronghold of Bello Turji, a notorious “bandit” kingpin, said Ahmad Manga, security adviser to the state governor of Zamfara.

They engaged his fighters in an hours-long gun battle that left scores dead, he added.

The CPG were supported by Nigeria’s secret police (DSS) and militia members invited by the state government from northeastern Borno, where they are assisting the military in fighting jihadist groups, Manga said.

“The coalition took the fight to Turji’s stronghold in Shinkafi district where he lost more than 100 fighters in the battle,” Manga said.

The attack was led by Bashari Maniya, a former bandit who is now assisting the government, he said, adding that the attack “was aimed at getting Turji, dead or alive”.

A security source confirmed the incident, saying Turji had learned about the plans in advance and invited fighters from other bandit camps to fight off the attack.

“It will be hard to give an exact number, but the toll is quite huge” on the bandits’ side, the source said.

At least 20 vigilantes and militia were killed in the fight, including Maniya, both Manga and the security source said.

In an online video seen by an AFP reporter on Tuesday, Turji was seen celebrating with his men over bodies of at least nine vigilantes and militia members killed in the fight.

Turji also identified one of the bodies as “Bashir Maniya” in the video, in an apparent reference to the former bandit leader.

Bandit violence in Nigeria has evolved from clashes between Fulani herders and farmers over resources in the impoverished country into a broader conflict fuelled by arms trafficking.

Increasing cooperation between the criminal gangs in the northwest and jihadists in the northeast has seen attacks get worse.

Turji, 31, dumped herding for cattle rustling and kidnapping for ransom in 2011 in his native Shinkafi town, terrorising communities in Zamfara and neighbouring Sokoto state.

The kingpin had made several peace agreements with Zamfara state authorities only to renege later.

In February 2021 Turji appeared in a widely circulated video threatening to invite foreign gangs to destabilize Nigeria.

He has survived several military offensives, including airstrikes on his camps in December 2021 that killed his brother and other family members.

Guardian.ng

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BREAKING: Tinubu Gives Three Fresh Appointments

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Nigeria, Benin Sign Integration Pact

President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of three indigenes of Oyo State to the Surveyors Council of Nigeria.

Naija News learnt that the latest development was confirmed in an appointment letter obtained by Punch, which was signed by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Ibrahim Abubakar, on behalf of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume.

Tinubu appointed Moshood Akinwande as President of the Surveyors Council of Nigeria, alongside Olusoji Adeoye and Olaribigbe Shiyanbola as members of the council representing Oyo State.

According to the letter, the new council members will be inaugurated on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at the SGF’s Hall, Shehu Shagari Complex, Three Arms Zone, Abuja.

The letter read, “I write with reference to the above subject to forward herewith a copy of Mr President’s approval for the appointment of the President and members of the Surveyors Council of Nigeria and to convey the Secretary to the Government of the Federation’s approval for the inauguration of the council as follows.

“The new council members will be inaugurated on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at the SGF’s Hall, Shehu Shagari Complex, Three Arms Zone, Abuja.

“Members cut across various interest groups, including representatives of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors from the states, academic institutions offering surveying courses, the military, among others.”

Akinwande, a retired director in the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation, is a native of Oyo town.

Adeoye is the Surveyor-General of Oyo State, while Shiyanbola, who hails from Ipapo in Itesiwaju Local Government Area of the state, is a former Oyo State Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors and former Secretary of the Board of Fellows of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors.

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Wike Gives Condition to Resign From Tinubu’s Cabinet, Video Surfaces 

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Tinubu and wike

Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has publicly dared critics to disprove road construction claims tied to President Bola Tinubu’s administration, staking his resignation on the figures he presented at a commissioning ceremony in Abuja on Friday, July 17, 2026.

Speaking during the inauguration of the reconstructed Arab/Gbazango road in Kubwa, Wike said 221 kilometres of roads have been completed out of 317 kilometres awarded across satellite towns in the FCT since Tinubu assumed office in May 2023

The minister directed his remarks at those he described as detractors of the administration’s urban renewal programme.

Wike said: “The people of the satellite towns have felt the impact of governance. It has never happened in the history of the administration of this country. “If there is anybody who has a contrary view, let him come out and challenge us that all these you are saying is not correct, I will resign as the minister of the Federal Capital Territory.”

The event was tagged “Day 28” of a running series of FCT project commissionings, reflecting what the minister characterised as an accelerated delivery of infrastructure across the capital territory.

Legit reports that the Arab/Gbazango Road in Kubwa was among the projects cited as evidence of Tinubu’s administration’s ‘commitment to completing long-neglected routes in residential communities surrounding Abuja’s city centre’.

Wike’s remarks come amid ongoing debate between government officials and opposition figures over the pace and scale of federal infrastructure delivery.

While the minister presented the kilometre figures as evidence of tangible progress, critics have continued to question the scope and quality of projects executed under the current FCT administration

Watch Wike’s video below:

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb6MjoWICVfrgvYOI845/694

 

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BREAKING: Mystery Deepens as Fresh Details Emerge in Mary Habila’s Death at Tinubu Minister’s House

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The Ebonyi State Ministry of Justice has recommended that a post-mortem examination be conducted to determine the cause of death of 26-year-old Mary Habila, who was found dead at the Uburu residence of the Minister of Works, David Umahi.

The recommendation was contained in a legal advice dated July 15, 2026, and addressed to the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ebonyi State Police Command.Radio

According to the document, reportedly obtained by SaharaReporters, the advice followed a police investigation into Habila’s death at the minister’s residence on June 27.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) stated that the evidence contained in the police case file was insufficient to establish the cause of her death.

The legal advice noted that Habila was found alone and unresponsive in her apartment, adding that investigators were unable to determine what led to her death based on the available evidence.

According to the DPP, there was nothing in the investigation to suggest that Habila had any known illness or underlying health condition before her sudden death.

“There was no evidence that the deceased was indisposed, sick or unstable health-wise prior to her sudden death, as she was full of life at the time she returned to Uburu in company of her team,” the document stated.

The ministry argued that, in the absence of any known medical condition, a scientific examination was necessary to establish the actual cause of death.

“From the foregoing, therefore, the question that would readily come to mind is what exactly caused the deceased’s sudden death?” the DPP queried.

It maintained that a post-mortem examination remained the most appropriate means of providing investigators with a clear direction.

“This curiosity under the law can only be resolved through a post-mortem examination, so as to provide a clue to the police as to the direction of their investigation,” the legal advice added.

The Ministry of Justice further stated that the police could either honour the family’s reported wish to proceed with burial without an autopsy or exercise their statutory powers to order the examination.

“It is therefore the view of this office that the police invoke their discretionary power to either respect the request of the deceased’s family or proceed with the post-mortem examination,” the DPP stated.

The recommendation comes amid growing public interest and conflicting reports over the release of Habila’s body for burial.

Her father, Baba Habila, reportedly visited a morgue in Ebonyi State to receive her remains ahead of a planned burial in Nok, Kaduna State, but declined to comment to journalists.

The family was also reported to have indicated that it did not intend to request an autopsy.

However, Habila’s body had reportedly not been released as investigators continued to consider the Ministry of Justice’s recommendation.

According to reports, Habila arrived at Umahi’s residence on June 26 alongside another woman identified as Anita Baski and was found unresponsive the following morning.

The case was initially reported at the Ohaozara Divisional Police Headquarters before it was transferred to the Ebonyi State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.

Minister of Works David Umahi later confirmed that Habila died at his residence, describing her as a physiotherapist seconded from the David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences to the Federal Ministry of Works.

Umahi also disclosed that he had encouraged the family to consent to an autopsy to establish the cause of death.

Meanwhile, SaharaReporters, citing unnamed police sources, reported that investigators were examining aspects of Habila’s employment history and her relationship with the university and the Federal Ministry of Works.

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