Good morning! Here are six top headlines from Nigerian Newspapers today;
1. A Former Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, on Friday advised the federal government to consider a nationwide lockdown as a strategy to decisively tackle banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, and other criminal activities. Buratai, a retired Lieutenant-General, who stated this on Friday when he appeared in Channels Television, compared COVID-19 scourge with present insecurity in the country.
2. Four members of the Benue State House of Assembly, namely, Mr. Alfred Berger representing Makurdi North State Constituency, Cyril Ekong of Oju 2, Abu Umoru of Apa, and Shimawua Terna of Kyan State Constituency, were during plenary on Friday suspended for three months for allegedly initiating impeachment against Speaker, Mr. Hyacinth Dajoh.
3. Two suspected kidnappers were reportedly shot dead in a gun duel with police detectives during an operation to rescue a 60-year-old victim, Tijani Aremu, in the Ikare area of Ondo state. Other suspected kidnappers reportedly escaped with bullet injuries after the shootout. A police source told Vanguard that one other suspect was arrested after the shootout between the police and the kidnappers.
4. Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, the 2023 vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party and running mate to Peter Obi, has dismissed the coalition-backed African Democratic Congress ADC as a grand deception, alleging that many of those who ruined Nigeria under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration are now seeking refuge in the party ahead of the 2027 elections.
5. The Enugu State Police Command has arrested eight suspects and recovered eight stolen vehicles in a renewed crackdown on criminal activities across the state. The command said the arrests, made in different operations between August 8 and 21, also led to the recovery of several exhibits, including motorcycles, vehicle number plates and keys.
6. The Federal Capital Territory Police Command have arrested two suspected kidnap kingpins, Masud Abdullahi of Karu, Nasarawa State, identified as the gang leader, and Muhammad Tahir of Jos, Plateau State. The command’s spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, disclosed in a statement on Friday that the arrests followed a counter-kidnapping operation carried out in collaboration with the Nasarawa State Police Command.
