An 18-month-old toddler has been beheaded in Ondo State by unknown persons.

The lifeless body of the little girl was discovered with the head severed after an attack on the mother at a farm settlement in Idanre, headquarters of Idanre Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The father of the girl, Bright Kalu, a peasant farmer at Agoti Settlement, said his wife was attacked along with the children, but he was unable to rescue the infant.

Kalu, who is demanding justice over the incident, stated that his daughter was left in the care of her mother at the camp while he was working on another farm.

He said, “I was returning from a nearby camp where I had gone to buy food items when I met my wife looking troubled and distressed. When I asked what had happened, she told me that someone had come to the camp and attacked her and that she was able to rescue three of our children, but one was missing.

“My elder brother, Mr. Ifeanyi Kalu, and I immediately followed her to the camp and searched the area. We did not find anyone, but we later discovered the lifeless body of my daughter behind our house. Her head had been severed.”

While confirming the incident, the police public relations officer in the state, Abayomi Jimoh, said that an arrest had been made and the investigation is ongoing.

The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has re-arrested a suspected receiver and distributor of stolen mobile phones, identified as Musa Idris, after recovering 36 phones believed to be linked to robbery operations.

Speaking during a press briefing at the Command Headquarters in Uyo on Wednesday, the Commissioner of Police, Baba Azare, said the suspect was apprehended along the Calabar–Itu Road following credible intelligence. The recovered items included 34 Android phones and two button phones.

According to the commissioner, investigations revealed that Idris had previously been arrested in October 2025 for offences related to armed robbery and possession of more than 200 suspected stolen phones.

Azare stated “that the findings suggest the recovered devices were proceeds of armed robbery activities carried out by criminal groups operating within and outside Akwa Ibom State”.

He added that the suspect provided useful information indicating the existence of a wider network involved in the trafficking and resale of stolen phones beyond Nigeria’s borders.

Efforts are ongoing to track down other members of the syndicate.

The Nigerian Army has announced the rescue of five kidnapped persons in Kogi State after terrorists reportedly abandoned them while escaping from ongoing military operations targeting criminal hideouts in the state.

This is contained in a statement by the Acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations for the 12 Brigade, Lieutenant Hassan Abdullahi, on Wednesday.

The operation followed intensified military offensives, including air strikes and ground assaults directed at terrorist camps located in forest areas across Kogi.

Abdullahi said the victims regained their freedom as a result of sustained pressure mounted on criminal elements operating within the area.

He added that troops from the Forward Operating Base in Oshokoshoko were deployed on a blocking mission along the Oshokoshoko-Adankolo route inside the Adankolo Forest following a recent air interdiction mission against a known terrorist enclave.

According to him, during the operation, soldiers encountered five kidnapped victims who had been left behind by their captors while the terrorists fled from advancing military forces.

The Army spokesman pointed out that preliminary investigations indicated that the kidnappers abandoned the victims after their camps came under intense pressure from ongoing military operations.

The development forced members of the criminal group to disperse in different directions in an attempt to evade capture.