The Bauchi State Police Command has arrested 15 suspects following a violent clash between rival youth groups in Azare, Katagum Local Government Area, which left at least 10 people seriously injured.

The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Saturday, prompted the Commissioner of Police, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, to visit the affected community on Tuesday for an on-the-spot assessment of the security situation.

According to the command’s spokesperson, SP Nafiu Habib, the police received a distress call at about 12:15 am on July 5 from a resident reporting a violent confrontation between youths from the Tsakuwa and Matsango areas of Azare.

He said police patrol teams were immediately deployed to the scene, where the rioters were dispersed using minimal force, preventing the violence from escalating.

“Preliminary findings revealed that about 10 persons from both groups sustained serious injuries and were rushed to the Federal University Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, Azare, for medical treatment,” the statement said.

Habib disclosed that 15 suspects had been arrested in connection with the disturbance, while efforts were ongoing to apprehend other fleeing suspects.

During his visit, the police commissioner led a team of senior officers to inspect the affected communities, assess the command’s response and engage with community leaders.

Aliyu commended the Area Commander in Azare, the Divisional Police Officer, operatives of the Police Mobile Force, the Violent Crime Response Unit, the Anti-Kidnapping Unit and other security outfits for their swift intervention, which he said prevented further destruction of property and possible loss of lives.

The CP also visited the injured victims at the hospital before paying a courtesy visit to the Emir of Katagum, Alhaji Umar Faruq II.

The monarch commended the police for their prompt response and pledged the emirate’s support in identifying and prosecuting those responsible for the violence.

Aliyu directed sustained 24-hour patrols and surveillance in the affected areas to prevent any reprisal attacks, ordering a discreet investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the clash, with a view to arresting and prosecuting the ringleaders.

He urged parents, community and religious leaders, as well as youth groups, to embrace dialogue and discourage violence, warning that anyone found culpable would face the full weight of the law.

The police said normalcy was gradually returning to the area, assuring residents that security had been strengthened and advising them to continue their lawful activities without fear.

Six soldiers have sustained injuries in a road traffic accident involving troops of the 8 Division Garrison in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

This was disclosed in a post on X by Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency and security expert in the Lake Chad region, on Tuesday.

Makama, citing intelligence sources, said the accident occurred on Saturday at Goronyo Community while troops attached to the Forward Operating Base (FOB) Isa were returning from an administrative patrol.

According to the report, the accident involved a military gun truck which sustained minor damage in the incident.

Six soldiers were injured and were immediately evacuated to Goronyo Hospital, where they received initial medical treatment and were stabilised.

The injured personnel were later transferred to the 8 Division Military Hospital for further medical attention.

The sources added that the condition of the injured soldiers was stable, while the circumstances surrounding the accident were being assessed.

Operatives of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Police Command have arrested six suspected members of a notorious kidnapping syndicate and recovered the N8.25 million ransom allegedly paid by the family of one of their victims.

The Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Muhammed Sanusi, disclosed the breakthrough during a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday.

Sanusi said the command received a distress call on June 29, 2026, reporting the abduction of a young woman in the Maitama area of Abuja.

He explained that following the report, a team from the Command’s Violent Crime Response Unit was immediately deployed to track the kidnappers.

According to the CP, the suspects later contacted the victim’s family and demanded a ransom of N20 million for her release.

“Unknown to the suspects, we were already hot on their trail. Our digital tracking revealed that they had taken the victim out of the FCT and kept her in Kwan-Kwashe Village, a remote settlement in Niger State,” he said.

Sanusi noted that although the suspects eventually collected N8.25 million from the victim’s family before releasing her on July 3, police operatives sustained the operation and arrested six members of the gang in Suleja, Niger State, on July 5.

He identified the suspects as Ifeoma Nnamchi, alleged to be the gang leader, Peter Rasheed Onwunumah, Olanipekun Anuoluwa, Jemimah Monday, Gabriel Nnamchi and Stanley Nnamchi. According to him, two of those arrested are children of the gang leader.

Items recovered from the suspects include the full N8.25 million ransom, two fully tinted operational vehicles—a Toyota Corolla with registration number SMK 559 FV and a Toyota Camry with registration number YAB 712 NH—a cutlass, seven pairs of AirPods, several pieces of jewellery suspected to have been stolen from previous victims, five mobile phones and a laptop.

The police commissioner further revealed that investigations showed that the alleged gang leader, Ifeoma Nnamchi, and another suspect, Olanipekun Anuoluwa, had previously been arrested by the FCT Police Command in 2022 and 2019 respectively for similar offences.

Despite their previous arrests, Sanusi said the suspects regrouped and resumed criminal activities, operating along the Kubwa Expressway, Maitama Federal Housing Road and other parts of the FCT since 2024.

He added that members of the syndicate admitted to carrying out several “one chance” operations, although they could not accurately recall the total number.

According to the police, the gang confessed that in its five most recent operations, it kidnapped and robbed five female victims and extorted a total of N12.8 million in ransom.

Sanusi said the suspects remain in police custody and will be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of investigations.

The Commissioner of Police warned the public against the use of tinted glasses on vehicles, stating that criminal elements have been using such vehicles for their nefarious activities.