ALERTS DATE
The following section illustrates the date alerts were reported on Monday, 12th December, 2022.
ATTACK
- Following an ambush on a military convoy by gunmen suspected of being terrorists, a Lieutenant Colonel of the Nigerian Army was kidnapped. According to reports, the senior military officer was kidnapped on Friday, January 6, along the Tsafe (Zamfara)/Funtua (Katsina) road. The abducted officer is the new commanding officer of the Nigerian Army’s 8 Division in Sokoto. “Our new boss, who started work on Friday, was attacked while being driven to Kano. “The gunmen took him away, a military source said.
KIDNAPPING
- According to an official, police in Plateau foiled an attempt by gunmen to kidnap the Speaker of the Plateau House of Assembly. This was revealed in a statement issued by the Plateau Police Public Relations Officer on Sunday in Jos. According to him, the incident happened on Friday night at the Speaker’s residence in the Federal low-cost area of the state’s Jos South Local Government Area. He claimed that it took the bravery of the security guards at the speaker’s residence, as well as the timely intervention of other Rantya Division police officers, to foil the attempt.
- The Kwara State Police Command has apprehended a suspect who allegedly kidnapped his father in Igboho, Orelope Local Government Area, Oyo State, and demanded N2.5 million in ransom before releasing him. The suspect was apprehended by the anti-kidnapping team on Wednesday, January 4,2023, at the Kambi area on the Ilorin-Jebba road in Moro local government area of Kwara state. According to a statement issued by the command’s spokesman, the suspect was apprehended while on the trail of suspected kidnappers in the Kambi area.
- A retired police officer, a nursing mother and her baby, as well as two minors, have been rescued from among the 32 passengers abducted from Igueben train station, in Igueben Local Government Area of Edo State. The victims were waiting to board a train to Warri, Delta State, when they were kidnapped by gunmen on Saturday afternoon. According to reports, the victims were rescued by a group of security personnel that included a local vigilante and hunters. It was also discovered that one of the kidnappers had been apprehended by security personnel.
SHOOTING (GUNMEN)
- The Nigeria Railway Corporation, NRC, has closed Ekehen Station in Edo State indefinitely following an attack by gunmen. The station is located in Edo State’s Igueben Local Government Area in South-South Nigeria. The NRC made the announcement in a public announcement, the statement reads, This is to inform our general public and most especially our esteemed passengers, that Ekehen Station has been temporarily closed due to security issues, till further notice.
- Police in Edo State have confirmed that several passengers were kidnapped from a train station in the state’s Igueben Local Government Area. It was learnt that the gunmen attacked the victims while they were waiting to board a train to Warri in Delta State. In a statement, the command’s police public relations officer said it was unclear if anyone was killed in the incident, but some travelers did suffer gunshot wounds. He claimed that the abductors, armed with AK-47s, stormed the train station on Saturday evening and fired sporadically into the air before abducting scores of passengers.
- According to eyewitnesses, the kidnappers who attacked a Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC sub-station in Igueben, Edo State, and abducted over 30 passengers and staff on Saturday did so because the train station was not guarded by security personnel. This came as the Edo State Government confirmed that at least one of the kidnappers had been apprehended by local security and hunters. No fewer than 30 passengers and staff of the Nigerian Railway Corporation were kidnapped on Saturday by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen, while those who escaped abduction sustained bullet wounds.
ARMS & AMMUNITION
- The Zamfara Police Command said its officers killed two gun runners and recovered ammunition they were transporting on Saturday. The gun runners were apprehended on the Gummi-Anka highway, according to police. According to the command spokesperson, the police acted on an intelligence report about the movement of the suspects’ car from Taraba State to Zamfara. He claimed that while other suspects in the vehicle fled into the bush with gunshot wounds, two of them were killed. He stated that the police recovered three live shells for rocket-propelled grenades, three explosive shells, 152 rounds of live ammunition for AK 47 rifles, 200 rounds of live ammunition for anti-aircraft rifles, and some charms during an on-the-spot search.
TERRORISM
- The Nigerian Army has appointed Major General I.S. Ali as the new Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, the Joint Task Force North-East operation against Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists. Ali, who previously served with the 3 Division in Jos, Plateau State, was appointed on Saturday, according to a release from the Army Public Relations Director.
- The Federal Government has finalized plans to begin the second phase of the prosecution of Boko Haram suspects being held at a military facility in Kainji, Niger State. The disclosure was made on Sunday by the Solicitor-General of the Federation, SGF, and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, who stated that the planned trial of the detained terror suspects would resume in March.
INSECURITY
- The Nigerian Army (NA) has announced a major reorganization of senior officers in order to improve administrative and operational efficiency. On Saturday, the Director of Army Public Relations issued a statement. He stated that the redeployment of Major Generals and Brigadier Generals was approved by the Chief of Army Staff. It affects Army Headquarters Principal Staff Officers, Corps Commanders, NA Training Institution Commandants, Brigade Commanders, and Commanding Officers.
- A week after the expiration of the December 31, 2022 deadline to end all forms of terrorist criminality, attacks have persisted, even as the military has kept silent on the fate of 19 terrorists declared wanted with a N5 million bounty on each. The director of Defence Information (DDI), had, after three weeks of the declaration, confirmed that two of the wanted terrorists had been killed in military bombardments. The assurance was given by the minister of interior during a news conference at a joint ministerial briefing in Abuja. He stated that President Muhammadu Buhari had set a December deadline for security forces to restore order and stability throughout the country.
HOODLUMS ATTACK
- On Sunday, suspected hoodlums set fire to the Umuchu police station in Anambra state’s Aguata LGA. The incident was confirmed by the state police command’s spokesperson. He claimed that the station was being renovated at the time of the incident. The facility was reportedly destroyed during the #EndSARS protest in 2020 and is just being renovated by the community leaders.
