Crime & Court
Abuja attack: I was naked when 30 gunmen invaded our area, 12 of them bulldozing into my house —Abuja Woman
“Macbeth does murder sleep – the innocent sleep, Sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleave of care, the death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath, Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, chief nourisher in life’s feast.”—William Shakespeare
Wednesday, July 28, 2022: Chinonye woke up with a start! She wasn’t sure if it was a dream or reality.
The heavy bang on her door and a seeming dismantling of her door and window protectors caught her off-guard. She jumped up from bed and sat down briefly to realize it was not a dream but somebody was actually pulling down her entrance doors and the windows to her room.
Being the type that likes to sleep naked, she quickly grabbed a pair of jeans and jumped into it and put on a blouse just as the door and the window caved in and the intruders walked in, numbering about twelve.
Her husband just travelled out of Abuja and she was home alone with her step-children, two undergraduates who had been home for some time since ASUU strike.
When she looked outside, she realized they were more in number than she thought. With a gun pointed on her head and a machete at her neck, they began to tell her what to do.
“I was scared to my pants. I never imagined that kind of thing would ever happen to me, not in Abuja. It was about 2am, the 28th day of July. They spoke good English and with northern accent. They were making specific demands and were not in a hurry. They stayed more than 30-minutes in my flat, taking away cash. Phones, laptops, jewelries and other valuables.
They asked me to open my phones and told me where to check the security number and they pressed on it. They asked for the pin and the pack that contained the phones when I bought them and I told them I left them in Lagos, that I was transferred recently to Abuja from Lagos. They asked where I work and I told them I’m working in a federal government establishment. They asked how long I have worked and I told them I just came to Abuja. It never occurred to me that with the gun on my head and the machete on my neck, all the truth was coming out. They were speaking good English.
”They left when they heard the police siren and we heard them exchanging words with the police. We were not sure if arrests were made. It was when the police came and they left that everybody came out, emboldened by the police presence. It was also then that we realized the robbers were more than 30. Twelve families were robbed that night. One of my neighbours who just had a baby kept thanking God because, they had already kidnapped the baby but later dropped him after much pleading and when the police arrived.
“We live in Nyanya area of Abuja but we realized it was not only us. Insecurity is spreading fast that even those very close to the seat of power and perceived safe areas in Abuja are afraid. My colleague who lives at Wuse also shared the experience of how the devils visited her household.
“My husband was not home when it happened but after relaying the experience, we have engaged on a search for another house. I was told it wasn’t the first time the area was robbed and the other time, they also tried to kidnap a baby but it was rescued. I don’t know what they have against new born babies and what they used them for but it was a scary experience. I don’t wish it anybody.”
Chinonye lamented the wave of crime in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, which she said has gotten worse recently.
“I’ve always had this feeling that sometime will happen because very close to where I live, there is this large expanse of land and herdsmen are forever in that place grazing their cattle. I have told my husband times without number about my feeling but he kept saying nothing was going to happen. I need to relocate even if it would mean coming back to Lagos. I don’t feel safe here.
“Abuja residents are scared. Some are already relocating to other places especially after the recent security report of terrorists threatening to attack the FCT. My friend in Wuse told me her family is relocating to Ireland and only her husband would stay in Nigeria. It has really gotten that bad and families are relocating to other places.
“People don’t move anyhow around Abuja. If you are driving, you drive with care. Usually I don’t drive to work. I use to patronize all these unmarked vehicles but not anymore.
Nowadays, workers patronize public vehicles and if you must enter those unmarked cars, you look well before you leap due to kidnappers.
“Coming face-to-face with dare-devil armed robbers is not an experience one can wish one’s enemies and to have a gun pointed at your head and a cutlass at your neck is not a funny experience.”
Indeed, the spate of insecurity in Nigeria has reached an alarming stage. It has gotten to a stage that siblings fear each other and even parents are not comfortable with their children and vice-versa.
A bad situation
The issue of insecurity in Nigeria has become all encompassing. From the north to the south; from the east to the west, there is always a story to tell.
It has become such a dastardly situation where no one is safe and the problem is escalating and now is totally getting out of control.
Travel in Nigeria is a big experience; whether it is travel by road, by rail, the air or by sea, gunmen are everywhere.
Even if you are in your house or place of business, the gunmen are on the prowl.
To be in prison is not safe either. The gunmen dared to invade prisons and released prisoners across states in the federation.
Having a retinue of guards does not guarantee safety.
Just recently, the gunmen had the effrontery to threat to kidnap President Muhammadu Buhari and the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai and from all indications, they meant business.
Gunmen attacked the Presidential Advance Team to Katsina before the last Sallah Holidays.
They have attacked and killed some members of the Presidential Guards and few days ago, requested that federal government pays ransom for 500 Law Students, the DG and the 15 lecturers at the Law School Abuja.
After the threat message, the Law School management and the Department of State Services, DSS, addressed the students, giving them security tips.
Saturday Vanguard learnt that many students left the institution after the threat and some pleaded that the Law School be relocated.
Veritas University in Abuja, taking the clue has also shut down.
Insecurity has become a recurring phenomenon that threatens the well-being of citizens.
Public and Private Schools at the FCT are closing down. It is no longer a matter to joke with.
Last Tuesday, persons suspected to be terrorists/bandits carried out sporadic shootings at the Minister’s Hill area and the Dantata Bridge along Airport Road, Abuja.
In all these, Nigerian politicians have carried on as if nothing is amiss, as if they owe Nigerians no explanation.
Spreading like wild fire
From one geo-political zone to the other, there’s always a scary story to tell.
In the south-west, there’s a surge in cybercrime, armed robbery, kidnapping, domestic crime, extrajudicial killings, herder-farmer conflicts, ritual killings, and banditry.
The Ondo State Church experience happened not too long ago.
The agitation for Biafra with its now accompanying killings, commercial crime, kidnapping, herder-farmer clashes, attacks by unknown gunmen, and banditry is now holding sway in the southeast.
In the south-south, kidnapping, and environmental agitation are not completely over.
Humanitarian crisis caused by the Boko Haram insurgency and the Islamic State of West Africa Province has held sway for years in the northeast.
Ethno-religious killings and banditry are known to have taken a centre-stage in the north-west.
Since 2015, insecurity in Nigeria has gone political and now is spreading across ethnic and religious lines and has claimed thousands of lives and property.
Nigeria’s corrupt system since independence seems to have birthed the situation and the 1966 coup is the ugly cornerstone for the insecurity experienced today in Nigeria.
The 1966 coup, though not an Igbo coup as being perceived has created a mutual distrust between Igbo ethnic group and the other ethnic groups.
The ethnic mistrust among ethnic groups has made it extremely challenging for a Nigerian of south-eastern origin to become the country’s president and fuelled the perceived marginalisation of the region in the power control equation.
The heightened clashes between herdsmen and farmers in many southern parts of the country were interpreted as an invasion of the region by northern elements.
Major farms in the south-west including the Obasanjo farms and Olu Falae farms have been attacked by herdsmen with the later physically harmed.
The daughter of the Afenifere leader was equally attacked and killed.
The communities of the north central have also been at the mercy of bandits and land grabbers.
Insecurity has gone haywire. The politicization of the insurgency and terrorism has given room for their rapid expansion and replication.
Reports have also shown that absolute poverty, illiteracy, and neglect of the youth in many of the northern states created ready pools of recruits that found solace in the use of ammunition.
From all indications, the rising violence has cost Nigeria over 11% of its GDP worth N119 billion and projects worth N12 trillion were abandoned across Nigeria due to insecurity and other challenges.
The global peace index for 2021 compiled by the Institute for Economics and Peace ranked Nigeria 146th out of 163 countries with a score of 2.712, while among sub-Saharan African countries the country was ranked 39th out of 44 countries examined in the region.
According to experts, insecurity affects economic growth by drying out investments, increasing unemployment, and dwindling government revenue, among others.
Crime & Court
UNIBEN killing: Edo security squad arrests 12 suspected cultists, seals initiation centres
Security operatives in Edo State have arrested 12 suspected cultists and sealed two apartments allegedly used as initiation centres during coordinated raids across parts of Benin City following the killing of a young man near the gate of the University of Benin.
The operation, code-named “Operation Flush Out Cultists and Kidnappers,” was carried out by the state’s Special Security Squad after the killing recorded on Sunday, May 10, 2026.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo, Patrick Ebojele.
According to the statement, the Chief Security Officer and Principal Security Officer to the governor led the raids conducted in Ekosodin, Isihor, Old Road off S&T Barracks, Airport Road, 19th Street Ugbowo, Ogba-Evbuodia and Evbuomore Quarters, all in Benin City.
Spokesman for the security squad, Noah Idemudia, alleged that some youth leaders within communities in the state were aiding violent crimes and harbouring criminal elements.
He said intelligence reports indicated that sophisticated weapons used in deadly attacks were often traced to communities across the state.
“Reports reaching us indicate that some persons are allegedly harbouring criminals. Intelligence reports also suggest that sophisticated weapons used in deadly attacks on citizens are allegedly sourced from communities.
“The governor is warning community leaders to maintain peace in their various communities and ensure that no unlicensed weapons are found in their possession, as they will be held liable and treated as criminals,” Idemudia said.
He, however, clarified that the 12 suspects arrested were not directly linked to the killing near the university gate.
According to him, the suspects were allegedly identified as members of different cult groups after security operatives reportedly discovered symbols, signs and other incriminating materials on them during the raids.
Idemudia added that the suspects had been handed over to the Anti-Cultism Unit of the Nigeria Police Force for profiling and further investigation.
Speaking on the properties sealed during the operation, he said one of the apartments was allegedly being used as a cult initiation centre.
He explained that operatives came under attack while attempting to arrest suspects at the location, forcing authorities to seal the premises and invite the property owner for questioning.
He added that another apartment raided allegedly contained shrines and fetish items scattered across several rooms, which investigators suspect were being used for initiation into different confraternities.
According to him, the owner of the property had also been invited for questioning by security agencies.
“The governor has warned those sponsoring cultism and violent killings in the state to desist immediately.
“Anyone found aiding criminality in Edo State will face the full weight of the law, as the state will no longer be conducive for criminal elements,” Idemudia added.
He also warned against unlawful gatherings, alleging that some cult groups were planning anniversary celebrations across the state.
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday convicted and sentenced former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, to a cumulative 75 years imprisonment in absentia over a ₦33.8bn money laundering scandal linked to the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects.
The trial judge, Justice James Omotosho, found Mamman guilty on all 12 counts bordering on conspiracy and money laundering filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The judge ruled that the prison terms would run consecutively, bringing the total sentence to 75 years.
Justice Omotosho held that Mamman deliberately absented himself from court on the day of judgment and during the previous adjourned sitting in a bid to frustrate the administration of justice.
He agreed with counsel for the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 empowered the court to proceed with sentencing despite the defendant’s absence.
The court consequently sentenced the former minister to seven years imprisonment each on Counts 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 without an option of fine.
Mamman was also sentenced to three years imprisonment on Count 4 with an option of a ₦10m fine, and two years imprisonment on Count 5 without an option of fine.
Justice Omotosho further ordered that the sentence would commence from the date of Mamman’s arrest since he was convicted in absentia.
The judge directed security agencies within and outside Nigeria, including Interpol, to arrest the convict wherever he is found and hand him over to the Nigerian Correctional Service to serve his jail term.
The court also ordered the final forfeiture of two Abuja properties linked to the former minister, alongside various sums recovered in different currencies by anti-graft agencies.
In addition, the court ordered Mamman to refund the outstanding balance from the ₦22bn already traced to the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects out of the ₦33.8bn allegedly diverted.
The conviction followed a lengthy trial instituted by the EFCC, which accused Mamman of conspiring with ministry officials and private companies to divert funds earmarked for the two power projects.
Mamman was arraigned on July 11, 2024 on a 12-count charge and pleaded not guilty.
During the trial, the EFCC called 17 witnesses and tendered 43 exhibits to support its case.
Following the close of the prosecution’s case, the former minister filed a no-case submission on November 19, 2025, contending that the EFCC had failed to establish sufficient evidence against him.
However, Justice Omotosho, in a ruling delivered on December 11, 2025, dismissed the application and held that the prosecution had established a prima facie case requiring the defendant to open his defence.
The matter was subsequently adjourned for continuation of defence before Wednesday’s judgment brought the proceedings to a close.
The case, regarded as one of the most significant corruption convictions in recent years, stemmed from Mamman’s arrest and detention by the EFCC on May 10, 2021.
The fourth defendant in the alleged coup plot trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja, Zekeri Umoru, on Tuesday denied knowledge of any plan to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s government, declaring in a recorded statement played in court that he was “misled”.
Umoru, a maintenance worker at the Presidential Villa engaged by a construction firm, made the claim in a video recording tendered by the prosecution as part of evidence against six defendants standing trial over the alleged plot.
In the footage played in open court, the defendant told investigators that he was introduced to key figures in the case by the third defendant, Inspector Ahmed Ibrahim, who is attached to the Presidential Clinic.
He said Ibrahim introduced him to one Hassan Mohammed, whom he later discovered to be Colonel Mohammed Ma’aji.
Umoru explained that he initially believed Ma’aji was a civilian businessman who intended to engage him for electrical work at a building under construction.
He, however, told investigators that he subsequently received several cash payments from Ma’aji during meetings attended by Ibrahim and another associate identified as Usman.
Recounting one of such meetings at a bar, Umoru said Ma’aji allegedly gave between N100,000 and ₦120,000 to him and others after buying drinks and asking about their professions.
He further disclosed that on September 24, 2025, Ma’aji allegedly handed him a “Ghana Must Go” bag filled with cash.
According to him, he deposited the money in a bank, where it was counted and confirmed to be N8.8m.
He added that an additional N2m was allegedly given to him the following day during another meeting involving Inspector Ibrahim.
Umoru told investigators that he became uneasy over the repeated cash payments and demanded an explanation from Ibrahim.
He claimed that Ibrahim told him Ma’aji was dissatisfied with the state of the country and intended to “sanitise the government” with the support of unnamed associates described as “boys”.
The defendant further alleged that discussions included plans to involve an ambulance driver to facilitate access into the Presidential Villa, with promises of financial rewards.
Despite the revelations, Umoru maintained that he had no knowledge of any coup plot.
“I was misled,” he said, adding that he would have distanced himself from Ma’aji had he known he was a military officer or had intentions beyond business.
Umoru also admitted escorting Usman into the Presidential Villa, noting that security personnel granted access after he identified the visitor as someone who came to see him.
He added that he later caught Usman taking photographs in his office and warned him to desist.
The defendant expressed regret during the interview, apologised to his employers, and affirmed his support for President Tinubu’s administration.
The court also viewed a separate video involving an Islamic cleric, Sheikh Imam Kassim Goni, who similarly denied involvement in the alleged plot.
Goni told investigators that funds he received from Ma’aji were meant strictly for prayers and charitable causes, including spiritual interventions linked to alleged promotion challenges.
However, investigators presented financial records indicating transfers running into millions of naira, including a ₦10m transaction in October 2024, which they said contradicted aspects of his claims.
The prosecution further argued that discussions captured in the videos—particularly references to gaining access and procuring “work tools”—raised concerns about a coordinated scheme, although both individuals denied any knowledge of a coup plot.
Following the presentation of the video evidence, counsel to the sixth defendant, Michael Numa (SAN), told the court that he had just been served with his client’s video exhibits and required time to study them.
While defence counsel sought an adjournment, the prosecution, led by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), urged the court to adhere to its earlier directive for accelerated hearing of the case.
Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned proceedings till May 11, 12 and 13, 2026, for continuation of trial.
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