Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Sunday morning

Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:

1. Hundreds of youths and residents of Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State have staged a peaceful protest to demand the immediate rescue of the 176 people abducted during the deadly attack on Woro community nearly six months ago. The demonstrators, who said the victims had now spent 171 days in captivity, urged the Federal Government to intensify efforts to secure their freedom and end the wave of insecurity across the area.

2. Nigerian military has rescued five relatives of the Executive Chairman of Bungudu Local Government Area of Zamfara State, Nura Abdullahi, following a deadly attack on his residence by suspected terrorists. The council chairman, however, remains in captivity as security forces intensify efforts to secure his release.

3. Troops have neutralised a suspected female ISWAP/JAS spy in Borno and arrested 14 suspected criminals, including IPOB/ESN members, cultists and a deserter soldier in separate operations across the country. Operational reports made available to NAN on Saturday said the suspected terrorist was sighted through CCTV cameras approaching a military position from the Sambisa axis.

4. A total of 81 suspected criminals have been arrested by the Delta State Police Command during a raid on criminal black spots in Asaba, the state capital. The command’s spokesman, Bright Edafe, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday. Edafe said the operation, which was carried out on Friday, formed part of the command’s strategy to dismantle criminal networks and deny offenders safe havens across the state.

5. The Nigeria Police Force has commenced disciplinary proceedings against four officers captured in a viral video allegedly acting unprofessionally and making derogatory ethnic remarks toward a member of the public during a stop-and-search operation on the Lagos-Benin Expressway. The officers have been identified and taken into custody pending an orderly room trial, according to a statement issued on Saturday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Police, Ani Iniedu.

6. The Imole Campaign Council and the Osun State Police Command on Saturday disagreed over the arrest of the Accord Party candidate for Ijesa South House of Representatives, Popoola Alaba. The council, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee, Bamidele Salam, demanded the “immediate and unconditional release” of Alaba.

7. The Police Command in Lagos State has arrested a 41-year-old woman over an alleged N450 million land fraud involving about 30 people. It was gathered that the suspect obtained money from different people on the pretext that she would sell some plots of land to them, which she failed to do. They reported the case to the Ebute-Ero Police Division on July 10, prompting an investigation that led to the suspect’s arrest.

8. The Police Command in Ebonyi State has confirmed the killing of Mr Chidiebere Okpara, member of the state Neighbourhood Watch, formerly known as Ebubeagu, by suspected gunmen in Abakaliki. SP Joshua Ukandu, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO in the state, confirmed the incident on Saturday. Ukandu said the victim was reportedly attacked at Ugwuchara in Abakaliki Local Government Area at about 8:30 p.m. on Thursday.

9. Sheikh Ahmad Gumi on Saturday reignited the long running national debate over whether Nigeria should open direct channels of communication with Boko Haram insurgents and bandits. He argued that the same strategy once deployed to contain militancy in the Niger Delta should not be dismissed for the North.

10. The management of Confluence of Science and Technology, CUSTECH, Osara, Kogi State, has expelled two students for alleged involvement in gay practice. Four other students were rusticated for one academic session for fighting on the campus. The Information, Public Relations and Protocols Unit of the university made the disclosure in a statement issued on Friday, declaring that the sanctions followed resolutions reached by the institution’s senate.