Bandits Kill Army Officer and Policeman, Kidnap Over 70 in Zamfara Village Raid

Bandits killed an army officer and a policeman while kidnapping more than 70 residents in a pre-dawn raid on a village in Nigeria's Zamfara State.

Bandit Attack in Zamfara State

The attack occurred at about 1:40 a.m. on 2 August 2026 in Kasuwar Daji village, Kaura Namoda Local Government Area. [1] More than 70 people were abducted after bandits in large numbers invaded homes and shot sporadically. [1] An eyewitness named Musa Garba, who survived the attack, described how the bandits invaded the area at about 1:40 a.m., shooting sporadically and searching from house to house for their targeted victims. [1] Efforts were made by the military operatives stationed in the area, in collaboration with police personnel and local vigilantes, to foil the attack at its early stage, but they were overwhelmed because of the large number of bandits. [1] Garba said the people of the town were running helter-skelter for their dear lives, while women and children became stranded. [1] He added that he had never seen such a horrible situation in his life, as animals could be heard screaming while women and children became helpless. [1] The bandits escaped into the forest along with the people they abducted. [1]

Military Account of the firefight

The Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 8 Division, Nigerian Army / Sector 2 Operation FANSAN YAMMA, Lt. Col. Olaniyi Osoba, said in a press release that the military had successfully forced the bandits to retreat into the forest. [1] He confirmed that the bandits had abducted an unspecified number of residents from the surrounding community during the attack. [1] The incident occurred at approximately 1:40 a.m. on 2 August 2026, when terrorists attempted to exploit the cover of darkness to breach the military facility. [1] Alerted troops swiftly detected the hostile movement and responded with coordinated, overwhelming firepower. [1] The fierce resistance compelled the terrorists to abandon their mission and withdraw in confusion. [1] Following the initial engagement, reinforcements arrived and troops launched a hot pursuit of the fleeing terrorists, who had abducted an unspecified number of residents from the surrounding community during the attack. [1] Regrettably, one Army officer and one Police officer paid the supreme price during the heavy firefight. [1] Additionally, two soldiers sustained gunshot wounds and were promptly evacuated by air for advanced medical care. [1] Both personnel remain in stable condition. [1] Troops had since secured and dominated the area and were currently conducting exploitation operations to ascertain the full extent of the terrorists’ losses and ensure the safety of the community. [1]

NDLEA Drug Interdictions

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency said its operatives intercepted consignments of cocaine concealed in a local mortar and the false bottom of a backpack meant for shipment to China and Italy through a Lagos logistics company. [2] The agency spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed in a statement on Sunday that officers of its Directorate of Operations and General Investigations seized the cocaine on Thursday. [2] Babafemi noted that 250 grammes of cocaine were factory-fitted into the base of a local mortar packaged for export to China, while another 500 grammes were hidden in the false bottom of a backpack destined for Italy. [2] Operatives in Rivers State arrested a 38-year-old suspected drug dealer, Ugo Gift Okonkwo, at Eagle Island, Port Harcourt, following intelligence reports. [2] The suspect was nabbed with various quantities of cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine, swinol, tramadol and codeine syrup at the time of his arrest on Sunday, 26th July. [2] Operatives in Anambra State intercepted a truck with registration number XK 131 BDG at the DMGS Roundabout in Onitsha on July 27 and recovered 26,000 bottles of codeine syrup weighing 3,960 kilogrammes. [2] The truck driver, Chinedu Nwanze, 40, was arrested. [2] The operatives also recovered 331.84 kilogrammes of skunk from a Toyota Sienna bus with registration number KUJ 26 DV along the Kwale-Ughelli Expressway in Delta State on July 26. [2] In Nasarawa State, a 64-year-old suspect, Joseph Nwaeke, was arrested on July 28 at Asso Angwan Muazu in the Karu area with 68 kilogrammes of skunk and 29 grammes of methamphetamine. [2] Along the Zaria-Gusau Highway in Zamfara State, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 27-year-old suspect, Sani Umar, on July 27 with 7,400 pills of tramadol 225mg, believed to be supplies for criminal elements. [2] The agency’s commands across the country continued the War Against Drug Abuse campaign through sensitisation programmes in schools, communities, worship centres and motor parks. [2]

Palestinian Physician's Detention

Dr Mazen Rantisi, a 71-year-old Palestinian physician popularly described as the “doctor of the poor”, says he has suffered physical abuse and medical neglect since Israeli authorities detained him more than a month ago. [3] The doctor, known for often waiving fees, supplying medicines and operating a clinic that serves as a refuge for low-income Palestinians, was detained in a pre-dawn raid on his home in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on 21 June. [3] Prosecutors later indicted him for serving as chairman of the board of the Union of Health Work Committees, a Palestinian non-profit that provides medical care to thousands of Palestinians each year. [3] Rantisi told a lawyer from the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel that prison authorities withheld his regular medication for the first 10 days in Ofer prison and are still denying him one of his medicines. [3]

Sri Lanka Prison Riot

Sri Lanka tightened security across its prisons on Sunday after a riot left one person dead and six injured. [4] Prisoners damaged several buildings including the hospital, training center, and kitchen, within the Mahara prison on Saturday, which is about 15 km from commercial capital Colombo. [4] The riot began during family visiting hours with prisoners climbing atop roofs and setting fire to a building within the prison complex, and burning documents kept inside administration offices. [4] The prison housed about 4,100 inmates, about four times its capacity, mirroring a systemic crisis across the country's prison network, which holds over 41,000 convicted inmates in 22 facilities with a combined capacity of about 11,000. [4] Ten prison officials and 20 prisoners died in two days of fighting between two groups of inmates at a prison in the coastal town of Negombo, about 35 km north of Colombo, in early July. [4] The clash was Sri Lanka's worst since 2012, with police special forces, military and navy personnel called in to control the riot. [4] Attention has been paid to increasing security at all major prisons, particularly the ones close to Colombo, including the Negombo prison. [4] Prison officials have moved prisoners to their holding cells and are giving them food and water. [4] The air force deployed a helicopter and drones above the prison complex during the riot. [4] Dozens of people, including relatives of inmates, gathered outside the facility on Saturday evening and had to be held back by a police cordon. [4] A police curfew was imposed on Saturday night in three surrounding villages to disperse the family members and maintain peace. [4] The curfew was lifted by midday on Sunday. [4]

Ongoing Security Operations

Lt. Col. Olaniyi assured that Operation FANSAN YAMMA remained resolute in its commitment to sustaining offensive operations, protecting vulnerable communities, and dismantling terrorist networks until lasting peace and security were fully restored across the North-West. [1] The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, urged personnel nationwide to sustain the agency’s balanced approach to drug supply and demand reduction efforts. [2]

What to watch next: Troops continue exploitation operations in the area while NDLEA commands sustain the War Against Drug Abuse campaign through sensitisation programmes.