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.

The long-running rivalry between the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, and Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, JAS, popularly known as Boko Haram, has continued to reshape the insurgency in Nigeria’s North-East, with repeated clashes over territory, leadership and resources.

The background was highlighted in a report by security analyst Zagazola Makama while explaining the latest confrontation between both factions in Borno State.

According to the report, the conflict dates back to 2016 when ISWAP broke away from the Abubakar Shekau-led Boko Haram movement following disagreements over ideology and leadership.

Since the split, both groups have engaged in repeated battles over territorial control, taxation routes, recruitment of fighters and strategic hideouts across the Lake Chad Basin and the Sambisa Forest.

Makama reported that the rivalry intensified in May 2021 when ISWAP launched a major offensive into the Sambisa Forest, cornering Shekau during a confrontation.

According to the report, Shekau reportedly died after detonating an explosive device rather than surrendering to ISWAP fighters.

“The latest confrontation is the latest in a series of violent clashes between ISWAP and JAS, whose long-running rivalry has continued to reshape the insurgency landscape in the North-East,” the report stated.

Following his death, ISWAP absorbed many of Shekau’s followers, but several loyal JAS commanders rejected allegiance to the group and continued operating independently from isolated enclaves around the Sambisa Forest and Mandara Mountains.

Makama further reported that intelligence gathered in recent months indicated renewed tensions between the two factions over control of food supplies, taxation of local communities, movement corridors and the allegiance of surviving fighters.

According to the report, the struggle for dominance has triggered a series of violent internal battles, with both groups suffering casualties while competing for shrinking territories under sustained military pressure.

According to Makama, the renewed clashes suggest that sustained military offensives are forcing both factions into fierce competition over shrinking territories, supplies and recruits as troops intensify operations across the North-East.