The Jigawa State Police Command says it has foiled a suspected armed robbery operation and arrested two people over the alleged abduction of a one-and-a-half-year-old boy in separate operations across the state.

Police spokesperson SP Lawan Shiisu Adam said officers from the Violent Crime Response Unit were on a routine patrol around the Rashid Shekoni Teaching Hospital area in Dutse at about 3:00 am on Thursday when they stopped a tinted Sharon Galaxy vehicle carrying seven occupants whose movements appeared suspicious.

According to the statement, “Upon being signaled to pull over for routine security checks, the driver refused to comply and sped off, prompting the operatives to give the vehicle a hot chase.”

Police said the chase ended at Baranda Bush, where “the suspects eventually stopped the vehicle at Baranda Bush and opened fire on the police team in a desperate attempt to evade arrest.”

The officers returned fire, forcing the suspects to abandon the vehicle and flee into the bush. One suspect, who was found injured inside the vehicle, was taken to hospital but was later confirmed dead by a doctor.

Police recovered two machetes, three sticks, ropes and a Tecno mobile phone from the vehicle. Efforts are ongoing to arrest the fleeing suspects, while investigations continue.

In another operation, police arrested two suspects over the alleged abduction of a toddler from the paediatric ward of Babura General Hospital.

The arrest followed a report that the child had gone missing from the hospital. Acting on intelligence, officers arrested 20-year-old Khadija Aliyu on the outskirts of the town with the missing child.

Further investigations led to the arrest of Sadik Sale Yahaya, a nursing officer at Babura General Hospital, who police alleged conspired with the woman to abduct the child.

Police said the woman confessed to taking the child to an orphanage in Kaduna State with plans to sell the boy for N2 million.

The rescued child has been placed in protective custody and will be reunited with the family after the necessary procedures are completed. Both suspects remain in police custody as investigations continue.

Jigawa State Commissioner of Police Tijjani Murtala praised the officers involved in both operations and urged residents to continue providing useful information to help fight crime in the state.

Four herders have been arrested after they were allegedly linked to the destruction of a farm in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The arrests were made by troops of Sector 3 under Operation Enduring Peace after they responded to a distress call from Ricochongo Village at about 3:20 pm on August 5.

Security sources said the damaged farm belonged to Azumi Ade.

When the troops arrived, they found that crops on the farmland had been cut down with machetes.

The main suspect, identified as Idris Hashimu, reportedly escaped after sighting the troops and remain at large.

The troops arrested four other herders identified as Isa Adamu, Abdullahi Adamu, Mohammadu Lawal and Abubakar Nura.

They also recovered two cows believed to be connected to the incident.

The suspects and the recovered livestock are in custody as investigations continue, while security operatives are making efforts to apprehend the fleeing suspect.

Troops of Sector 2 under Operation HADIN KAI have destroyed several suspected Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, hideouts and logistics bases during a clearance operation in Yobe State.

The development was reported by security analyst Zagazola Makama, who disclosed that the offensive is targeting suspected ISWAP fighters believed to have escaped from the Lake Chad Islands and the Timbuktu Triangle following sustained military operations in the region.

According to the report, the fleeing insurgents were attempting to establish new hideouts in communities within Gujba Local Government Area before troops launched the latest offensive against them.

Makama reported that soldiers uncovered and destroyed several camps and life-support structures allegedly used by the terrorists to shelter fighters and sustain their operations.

“The operation is aimed at flushing out pockets of ISWAP fighters who fled the Lake Chad Islands and the Timbuktu Triangle in search of refuge in inland communities around Gujba Local Government Area,” the report stated.

The ongoing operation is concentrated around Mahdiyya, Lagarawa, Lamusheri, Ngarbai and Wulle, where troops are carrying out systematic clearance patrols to eliminate any remaining terrorist presence and prevent the insurgents from regaining a foothold.

Military sources, according to Makama, said the sustained offensive forms part of the Armed Forces’ broader strategy to deny fleeing terrorists safe havens after months of intensified pressure on insurgent strongholds in the Lake Chad Basin and the Timbuktu Triangle.

The sources added that the clearance operations remain ongoing, with troops maintaining aggressive pursuit of the suspected terrorists while consolidating gains recorded across the affected communities.