The Delta State Police Command has successfully foiled an attempt to kidnap a pastor and a retired school principal in Ughelli.

The Delta State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Bright Edafe, disclosed on Wednesday that on July 31, 2026, operatives of ‘A’ Division, Ughelli, acting on credible intelligence, foiled a planned kidnapping following information that Jeremiah, aged 26 (surname withheld), had allegedly attempted to recruit an individual into a kidnapping syndicate with a view to abducting a pastor and a retired school principal in Ughelli.

“The intelligence was immediately acted upon, leading to the arrest of the suspect at his duty post in Ughelli.

“A search conducted during the operation led to the recovery of one single-barrel gun and two live cartridges.”

He revealed that the suspect is undergoing further investigation.

The Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, CP Yemi Oyeniyi, commended the officers for the successful operation and reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to intelligence-led policing and the relentless pursuit of violent criminals.

He urged residents to continue providing timely and credible information to support ongoing efforts to keep Delta State safe.

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has cleared the Commander of its Mining Marshals unit, Assistant Commandant of Corps (ACC) John Onoja Attah, of allegations linking him to the diversion of N2 billion and an alleged cover-up surrounding the death of an operative, Deputy Superintendent of Corps (DSC) Levi Agada, during an operation at a mining site.

The clearance came as the Corps announced disciplinary measures against 79 personnel, including the dismissal of two Mining Marshals operatives for unlawfully supplying firearms to illegal miners.

The Commandant-General, Ahmed Audi, represented by the Corps’ spokesperson, Babawale Afolabi, disclosed this on Wednesday.

He said investigations carried out by the Corps found no evidence implicating Onoja or the management of the Mining Marshals unit.

Audi said comprehensive investigations had cleared Onoja, the lead prosecutor, and other members of the management team of any alleged complicity in the allegations that had trailed the unit.

“Allegations suggesting otherwise were found to be false and without factual basis,” he said.

The clarification comes months after allegations circulated linking the Mining Marshals commander and members of his team to the controversial death of the officer during an operation in Nasarawa State, as well as claims of a N2 billion diversion.

Onoja had consistently rejected the allegations, describing them as false and part of a coordinated campaign to discredit the Mining Marshals and frustrate the unit’s operations against illegal mining syndicates.

The NSCDC also announced sanctions against 79 personnel of the Corps for various acts of misconduct.

Audi disclosed that two members of the Mining Marshals unit were dismissed and recommended for prosecution for unlawfully supplying firearms to illegal miners.

“Consequently, both personnel have been dismissed from the service and recommended for prosecution in accordance with the law,” Audi said.

However, DAILY POST reports that the police had earlier fingered Onoja in connection with the death of Agada.

No fewer than three persons have been confirmed dead, while three others were injured in a road accident that occurred along the Ijebu Ode-Benin Expressway.

The accident, which involved a crane with no number plate and a Benz truck registered as LG 59 BLF, occurred at about 5 a.m. on Wednesday.

DAILY POST gathered that the driver of the moving crane drove against traffic at high speed and rammed into the oncoming truck, which was in its rightful lane.

The Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE), Babatunde Akinbiyi, who confirmed the incident, said six people were involved. Three of them died, while three others sustained injuries.

Akinbiyi said the injured persons were rushed to the Babcock University Hospital, Ilisan Remo, while the bodies of the deceased were deposited at the morgue of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu.

He said, “According to an eyewitness account, the crane driver drove against traffic, coupled with excessive speed. This led to a head-on collision with the Benz truck travelling in its rightful lane.

“There were six occupants in the two vehicles, three males and three females. Three males were injured, while two males and one female died in the accident.”

The PRO said the accident necessitated the diversion of traffic from Delabo Junction to the second lane under the close monitoring of TRACE operatives.