Troops arrested no fewer than 12 suspected members of the dreaded Mahmuda, which reportedly occupied the Kanji Lake National Park, Kwara State. They also reined in suspected gunrunners in Plateau State.

However, bandits have killed a retired secondary school teacher and abducted three women in a late-night attack on the staff quarters of Government Secondary School, Tsafe, in Zamfara State.

According to reports, the group had before now allegedly maimed, exploited, terrorised and took advantage of residents of neighbouring border communities in Baruten and Kaiama local councils of Kwara and Borgu Local Council in Niger State.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 2 Division, Maj-Gen Obinna Onubogu, who recently visited the camps in Kaiama and Baruten, disclosed the arrest of the 12 during his Saturday visit.

He said the suspects were arrested by the military at various locations during raids of the Kanji Lake National Park and the border communities. Two of them were confirmed members of the armed group, while others were identified as accomplices in the criminal act, he added.

“The counter-insurgency operation codenamed ‘Park Strike Four’ is meant to, among other things, flush out the bandits and clear the park of all criminal tendencies,” he hinted.

The army chief told journalists that the men and officers in the operation were not resting on their laurels to restore sanity at the park, raising the hope of the people in the area.

TROOPS of the 3 Division/Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) arrested notorious gunrunners and suspected kidnappers identified as Saeedu Haruna at Marit Mazat and Yahaya Adamu at Barakin Gangare areas of Barkin Ladi Local Council of Plateau State.

The troops also recovered one AK-47 rifle, one AK-47 magazine and one Itel mobile phone from the suspects during the operation.

Media officer of OPSH, Maj. Samson Zhakom, said the troops, supported by an intelligence agency, conducted an intelligence-based operation in the early hours of May 11, 2025, resulting in the arrest of Adamu.

Zhakom said preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects and their syndicates were responsible for most of the criminal activities along Gashish and Kurra Falls and in Gwantu and Fadan Karshe in Sanga Local Council of Kaduna State.

THE retired teacher, identified as Mallam Kabiru, was reportedly shot dead after resisting abduction. His wife and two other female residents of the staff quarters were subsequently kidnapped.

Spokesperson for the Zamfara State Police Command, DSP Yazid Abubakar, confirmed the incident to newsmen yesterday.

According to Yazid, the attackers stormed the premises on Saturday night. “They wanted to abduct him, but he resisted. That was when he was shot. His wife and two others were later taken away,” he explained.