Author: Vincent Osuwo

Terrorists on Friday evening reportedly invaded the Adanla community, a suburb of Igbaja in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, and allegedly abducted no fewer than seven persons. The attack, according to residents, occurred around 7pm on Friday, December 26, 2025, and threw the peaceful agrarian community into fear. A community leader in Igbaja and coordinator of the Kwara South Joint Community Security Watch Network, Elder Olaitan Oyin-Zubair, confirmed the kidnap by the terrorists. According to him, the terrorists stormed Adanla in large numbers, firing sporadically as they moved from house to house and forcing residents into submission.…

A fuel tanker burst into flames on Friday while discharging diesel at Rain Oil Filling Station in the Tumfure region of Gombe, Gombe State. On Friday, the fire was brought under control by the Federal Fire Service’s Gombe State Command. According to the agency, the crisis was brought under control after firemen responded quickly to a distress call, averting a huge calamity from occurring. Speaking about the event, the Public Relations Officer of the Federal Fire Service, Gombe State Command, ASF MB Muazu, stated that the firefighters’ professionalism and prompt response meant that the tanker was not entirely engulfed by…

An explosion involving a hand grenade injured a female soldier named Mohammed and two children in Maraba, Abacha Road, Nasarawa. The explosion occurred around 11:46 a.m. on Wednesday, December 24, 2025. According to an incident record acquired exclusively by PUNCH Online on Friday, a woman took the grenade out of her flat while cleaning and asked the soldier to assist in identifying it. The grenade reportedly detonated while being handled, injuring the soldier and two children of the woman who provided it. According to the report, preliminary results show that the device was left in the flat three years ago…

The Sokoto State Government has acknowledged that a coordinated airstrike conducted by the Nigerian military and the United States targeted terrorist enclaves in the Tangaza Local Government Area, with no civilian casualties reported. The confirmation was contained in a statement released on Friday by Abubakar Bawa, Director-General of Media and Publicity at Government House in Sokoto, and made available to media in the state capital. According to the statement, the combined operation on Wednesday was part of ongoing operations to dismantle terrorist and bandit networks in Sokoto State and along Nigeria’s northeastern border. “The impact of the airstrike could not…

Residents of Offa, Kwara State, were terrified Thursday night after explosions ripped through the town, destroying property and heightening security worries, just hours after the United States launched airstrikes against ISIS targets in northwest Nigeria. The incident, which occurred about midnight on Christmas Day, was reported to have occurred at two different locations in Offa. Residents informed newsmen that the first explosion damaged numerous structures near the Eid prayer grounds, while the second occurred near the Solid Worth Hotel, which is approximately a five-minute walk away. It was also revealed that an undetonated explosive device was located at the second…

A couple were shot dead in southwest Niger this week after gunmen opened fire inside a church, eyewitnesses told AFP on Friday. The incident occurred in Niger’s Dosso region, a Sahel country beset by a decade-long insurgency pitting the military against fighters believed to be affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. ACLED, a non-governmental organization that monitors conflicts throughout the world, reported that approximately 2,000 people perished as a result of such violence in Niger this year. “The attack happened in Mailo village at around 11:00 pm on Wednesday night. Christians were attending mass in the church when armed…

Yusuf Tuggar, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, stated that Nigeria contributed the intelligence that led to the United States’ bombing of terrorist targets in the country and formally approved the operation before it was carried out. Tuggar revealed this on Friday while speaking on Channels Television, a day after the United States said it had carried out a counter-terrorism strike. According to the minister, the operation was the result of continuing security collaboration between Nigeria and the United States, and it was not driven by religious reasons. He said, “It’s Nigeria that provided the intelligence. I was on the phone…

Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has condemned the United States’ recent attacks on terrorist camps in northwestern Nigeria. He called the attacks potentially divisive and damaging to national sovereignty. This follows US President Donald Trump’s admission that US soldiers conducted “numerous deadly strikes” in northwestern Nigeria. According to Trump, the strikes were directed at Islamic State terrorists who targeted Christians, and the Federal Government confirmed continuous security and intelligence cooperation with the United States. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the collaboration, which led to precision airstrikes, involves intelligence sharing and strategic coordination in line with international law and…

Gunmen on Christmas Day shot an assistant parish priest of Saint Kelvin Catholic Church, Ogbaku, in the Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State. The priest, whose identity had yet to be officially confirmed at the time of filing this report, was reportedly shot at about 8am on Christmas Day while approaching the church gate for morning Mass. A source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the priest was hit in the right hand, adding that the assailant was not seen at the scene. According to the source, the gunmen appeared to have fired from a concealed…

US Congressman Riley Moore has welcomed recent airstrikes in Northwest Nigeria as a decisive move to protect Christian communities and tackle the ongoing security crisis in the country. In a statement on Friday via his X handle, Moore said the strikes, conducted in coordination with the Nigerian government, marked “just the first step to ending the slaughter of Christians and the security crisis affecting all Nigerians.” “President Trump has been clear that the killing of Christians in Nigeria must end. “As I stated at the outset: Do not test President Trump’s resolve in this matter,” the congressman added. The statements…