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A joint security operation involving the Nigerian Army, Department of State Services (DSS), Nigerian Police Force, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has reportedly neutralised notorious bandit kingpin Ibrahim Bastuji and scores of his fighters during an ambush in Kogi State.
Security sources disclosed that the operation was carried out on Wednesday in Iluke Bunu, Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State, following intelligence indicating that the armed group was preparing to attack the community and abduct students from a nearby school.
The operation, which was supported by local vigilante groups, successfully disrupted the planned attack and resulted in heavy casualties among the bandits. Although official confirmation is still being awaited, security sources said Bastuji is believed to have been among those killed during the encounter.
According to the sources, intelligence gathered by the DSS revealed that the bandit leader was plotting to kidnap students and use them as bargaining chips to secure the release of members of his family currently in security custody.
Bastuji has long been identified as one of the most wanted criminal figures operating across the North-Central region, with alleged links to a series of deadly kidnappings, attacks on religious institutions, and assaults on security personnel.
Among the incidents attributed to him is the May 2026 attack on a church night vigil at Ori-Oke Ijaye in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, during which three worshippers were killed and 15 others abducted.
He was also reportedly responsible for the December 2025 attack on the First Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Ayetoro-Kiri, Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State, where one worshipper was killed and 20 others kidnapped.
Security agencies further linked him to the November 2025 attack on a Christ Apostolic Church congregation in Eruku, during which two worshippers lost their lives and 38 others were abducted.
Investigators also accused the bandit leader of orchestrating the abduction of 24 persons, including four Chinese expatriates, in early 2025, as well as the April 2026 kidnapping of several civilians, including foreign nationals, in the Mapo area of Kogi State.
Bastuji was equally implicated in the January 2026 blockade of the Lokoja–Abuja Highway, an attack that resulted in multiple deaths and the abduction of several commuters. He was also believed to be behind an assault on a joint military and vigilante patrol team in Koton Karfe Local Government Area, where three vigilante operatives were killed and several soldiers sustained injuries.
Originally from Katsina State, Bastuji reportedly began his criminal activities in Zamfara State alongside the notorious bandit commander Kachalla Dan-Karami Gwaska before expanding his operations into Niger and Kwara states.
Following sustained military offensives and security operations, he allegedly relocated his network to the Asawa Mountain range in Kogi State near Koton Karfe, from where he coordinated kidnapping operations and other violent criminal activities across the Kogi-Kwara corridor.
Reacting to the development, a community leader, Bello Abdullahi, described the reported elimination of the bandit kingpin as a major breakthrough in efforts to restore security in the region.
“The elimination of Ibrahim Bastuji marks a significant milestone in the sustained effort to restore peace and security across the Kogi-Kwara axis and the broader North-Central region. His death effectively decapitates a criminal network responsible for years of terror, mass abductions, and the killing of innocent worshippers, security personnel and civilians,” Abdullahi said.
Security agencies have yet to issue an official statement on the outcome of the operation, while efforts continue to verify the identities of those killed and assess the full impact of the raid.
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