Author: Aliyu H. Mohammed, Minna

BANDITS have attacked Damala village in Woko district of Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, killing at least four persons. The attack, which happened in the early hours of Saturday, January 10 comes barely one week after gunmen killed 42 residents in several communities, including the Kasuwan ⁠Daji market in Demo village, in Borgu and neighbouring Agwara LGAs. The Niger State Police Command confirmed the latest onslaught to News Point Nigeria on Sunday. In a statement, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, said the attackers stormed the village, rustled an unspecified number of cattle, and killed four residents…

SUSPECTED bandits have launched a brazen overnight attack on a Nigeria Police Border Patrol outpost at New Kalli (also referred to as Kale) village in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, setting the facility ablaze and destroying farm produce belonging to local residents. News Point Nigeria reports that the attack, which occurred late on Monday night, came less than 48 hours after deadly assaults on traders and farmers at Kasuwan Daji, also in Borgu LGA, raising fresh concerns over the deteriorating security situation in the border communities of the state. Local sources disclosed that the assailants arrived in the…

AT least 42 people have been killed and an unconfirmed number abducted, including schoolchildren, following a series of coordinated bandit attacks on communities in Agwarra and Borgu Local Government Areas of Niger State. Residents and local sources said the attacks, which have persisted for over a week, were carried out with little resistance due to the absence of security personnel in the affected areas. According to the source, “they tied the hands of 37 people from behind and slaughtered them in Kasuwa Daji near Papiri, while another five were killed in Kaima village. “They also abducted many people, including children,…

THE remaining abducted school children in Niger State have regained their freedom from their abductors. The Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago, will receive them at the government house on Monday. Terrorists abducted 315 school children from St Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School Papiri in Agwara Local Government Area on November 21, 2025. While 50 of the school children of the abducted children escaped from the terrorists’ den two days later and returned to their parents, 100 of the school children regained their freedom on December 8, two weeks later. Exactly 13 days after the 100 school children were…

THE Niger State Police Command has confirmed the death of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Abdullahi Isah, during an internal arms audit linked to an investigation into missing firearms and ammunition at the 12 Police Mobile Force (PMF) unit in Minna. The command’s spokesperson, SP Abiodun Wasiu, confirmed the incident on Friday while speaking with News Point Nigeria, stating that the officer died during a routine audit exercise connected to an ongoing probe. According to the police, DSP Isah, who was attached to 12PMF Minna, had earlier been taken into custody on December 15 over suspicions of involvement in…

THE Niger State Police Command has recorded significant breakthroughs in its fight against crime, arresting a suspected female arms and ammunition courier, a notorious child abductor, and several other criminal suspects across the state. Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, disclosed this in a statement sent to News Point Nigeria on Monday. According to the statement, operatives of the Force Intelligence Department (FID) and the Special Tactical Squad (STS), acting on credible intelligence, arrested Zuwaira Usman, a 35-year-old woman from Pandogari in Rafi Local Government Area, on November 4, 2025. She is alleged to have specialized in transporting ammunition…

NIGER State Governor, Mohammed Umar Bago, has finally confirmed the abduction of 315 pupils and students from St. Mary’s Catholic Private Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area of the state, reversing his earlier position that no schoolchildren were taken by bandits. News Point Nigeria reports that Governor Bago made the admission on Friday during the swearing-in ceremony of newly appointed commissioners as well as elected local government chairmen and their deputies in Minna, the state capital. In a sombre moment during the ceremony, the governor called for a minute of silence in honour of two parents…

A NIGERIAN Air Force (NAF) Alpha Jet has crashed near Karabonde community in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, with both pilots surviving after successfully ejecting from the aircraft moments before impact. News Point Nigeria reports that the crash, which occurred around 4:10pm on Saturday, sent shockwaves across nearby communities as residents reported hearing a loud explosion before spotting flames rising from the crash site. Local digital broadcaster, Lapai TV, first broke the news in a brief statement accompanied by a 57-second video, confirming that the pilots survived. “Two Nigerian Air Force pilots reportedly survive Alpha Jet crash close…

NATIONAL Security Adviser (NSA) to the President, Nuhu Ribadu, has reassured parents and authorities of St. Mary’s Private Catholic Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area, Niger State, that the abducted pupils “are doing fine and will return soon.” News Point Nigeria reports that Ribadu delivered the message on Monday during a visit to the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese and Proprietor of the school, Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, as well as parents of the abducted children at St. Michael’s Catholic Cathedral, Kontagora. He conveyed President Bola Tinubu’s message of hope, noting that efforts to rescue the children…

BANDITS have launched another deadly attack in Palaita community, Erena Ward, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, abducting 24 people, including pregnant women, from a rice farm. A source in the community told News Point Nigeria that the attackers struck at about 2:00pm on Wednesday while residents were harvesting their crops. Despite Palaita being only five kilometres from a military base in Erena, the bandits reportedly escaped with the victims before security personnel could respond. In a separate incident earlier that day, another group of armed men invaded the Kakuru community, also in Erena Ward, where they brutalised a…

THE National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Nentawe Yilwatda, has said that the abducted pupils and teachers of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State will soon be reunited with their families. News Point Nigeria reports that Yilwatda gave the assurance when he led members of the APC National Working Committee (NWC) on a solidarity visit to the Niger State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) today. He said the party stands firmly with the affected families, the Christian community, and the government and people of Niger…

GUNMEN have reportedly kidnapped an undisclosed number of students during an attack on St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, Niger State. News Point Nigeria gathered that the attackers stormed the school, said to be a private Catholic school located in the Agwara Local Government Area of the state, on Thursday night. Sources told this newspaper that the gunmen arrived in large numbers, riding on over 60 motorcycles and accompanied by a van. They were said to have shot the school’s gatekeeper, leaving him with serious injuries. A source in Agwara who confirmed the incident said, “Yes, it happened between…

NIGER State Police command has rescued six teenagers stolen by human trafficking syndicates in different parts of the state within a month. The suspects include a couple, caught with two of the children. News Point Nigeria reports that nemesis caught up with one Usman Adamu 40yrs of Sabon-Wuse, Tafa, who was sighted with four children around Angwan-Katampe suspected to have been abducted. Police operatives attached to Tafa Div mobilised to the scene said Usman was found with four children; Khalid Ilyasu 7yrs, Sadiq Ilyasu 11yrs, Ahmed Ilyasu 5yrs and Sadiq Idris 5yrs, all of Sabon-Wuse. This newspaper gathered that the…

TWO months after dissolving his cabinet, Niger State Governor, Umaru Bago, has submitted a fresh list of 30 commissioner-nominees to the Niger State House of Assembly for screening and confirmation. News Point Nigeria reports thsat Bago had earlier dissolved the State Executive Council during a meeting at the Council Chamber in Minna. He appreciated former commissioners for their service and contributions to the development of the state. At the time, he retained only key officials, including the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, and other principal officers in his office. In a letter…

THE House of Representatives has strongly condemned the deadly ambush on the convoy of Hon. Jafaru Mohammed Ali, lawmaker representing Borgu and Agwara Federal Constituency of Niger State, which claimed the lives of security operatives assigned to protect him. News Point Nigeria gathered that the attack, which occurred on Wednesday afternoon, took place along the Lumma–Babanna Road in Borgu Local Government Area, a route increasingly notorious for bandit incursions and cross-border movements from neighbouring Benin Republic. The lawmaker was reportedly travelling for a constituency engagement when the heavily armed attackers struck between 1:00pm and 2:00pm, unleashing gunfire on his convoy…

A PETROL-LADEN tanker has fallen along the Lambata–Lapai–Agaie Road in Niger State, causing tension among residents and motorists in the area. News Point Nigeria reports that the incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday at Takalafiya village, under the Lapai Local Government Area, when the truck, said to have departed Lagos for Kano, overturned and spilled some of its content. A resident of Lapai town, Mallam Mahmud Abubakar, told our correspondent by telephone that the accident scene is barely two kilometres away from the town. He added that the portion of the road where the tanker fell had recently…

THE National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has confirmed that the death toll from the petrol tanker explosion that occurred at Essa community along the Bida–Badeggi–Agaie road in Katcha Local Government Area of Niger State has risen to 45. It also said that 63 other victims sustained varying degrees of burns. The Head of Operations, NEMA Minna Office, Hussaini Isah, who oversees Niger and Kwara States, disclosed this in a situation update issued to News Point Nigeria on Friday. According to him, the explosion was caused by a bad section of the road, which led to the accident. He identified Essa…

GOVERNOR Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger State has declared that his administration will neither negotiate with bandits nor pay ransom to kidnappers, urging residents to take proactive measures in defending themselves against the escalating wave of attacks across the state. Bago made the declaration during a visit to communities in Rijau and Magama Local Government Areas that recently suffered deadly bandit attacks in the Kontagora axis. The governor, visibly angered by the worsening insecurity, said the era of appeasing criminals through ransom payments must end, insisting that such gestures only embolden them and turn kidnapping into a thriving enterprise. “The…

THE death toll from the tragic petrol tanker explosion in Essa community, Katcha Local Government Area of Niger State, has risen to 42, with over 60 others injured. The incident occurred on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, when the tanker overturned and exploded as residents were reportedly scooping fuel from the fallen vehicle. Grieving residents blamed the poor condition of the Bida–Badeggi–Agaie Road for the accident, urging both federal and state governments to urgently rehabilitate the highway to prevent further loss of lives. According to a report from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) sent to News Point Nigeria, the tanker…

NO fewer than 30 people have reportedly lost their lives, while about 40 others sustained varying degrees of injuries in a tragic tanker explosion that occurred on Tuesday in Niger State. News Point Nigeria reports that the incident happened around 11:00am at Essan and Badeggi communities along the Bida–Agaie road in Katcha Local Government Area of the state. Eyewitnesses said the victims were scooping fuel from a fallen tanker when the vehicle suddenly exploded, setting off a massive fire that engulfed several people. Many victims were said to have been burnt beyond recognition, while the injured were evacuated to nearby…