A notorious bandit kingpin, Ibrahim Bastuji, is feared to have been killed during a coordinated ambush by Nigerian security forces in Kogi State, credible sources have hinted.
The operation, carried out on Wednesday, involved troops of the Nigerian Army, operatives of the Department of State Services,officers of the Nigeria Police Force, and personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps with support from Kogi State vigilantes.
Security sources said the joint team intercepted Bastuji and his fighters as they moved to attack a school and residents of Iluke Bunu in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State. Several of the armed men were reportedly killed during the operation, while Bastuji is believed to have died in the exchange.
According to the sources, the ambush followed intelligence gathered by the DSS on a planned abduction of schoolchildren. Bastuji was allegedly plotting to seize the students as bargaining chips to secure the release of members of his family currently in security custody.
The suspected bandit leader had long been linked by security agencies to a string of deadly attacks and kidnappings across the North-Central region.
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Among the incidents attributed to him was the May 2026 invasion of a church night vigil at Ori-Oke Ijaye in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, where three worshippers were killed and 15 others abducted.
He was also accused of masterminding the December 2025 attack on the First Evangelical Church Winning All in Ayetoro-Kiri, Kabba/Bunu LGA of Kogi State, during which one worshipper was killed and 20 others kidnapped.
Security sources further linked Bastuji to the November 18, 2025 attack on Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Ekiti State, which left two worshippers dead and 38 others abducted.
In addition, he was believed to have been behind the abduction of 24 persons, including four Chinese expatriates, in early 2025, as well as the April 2026 kidnapping of civilians, including foreign nationals, in the Mapo area of Kogi State.
He was also accused of orchestrating the January 2026 midnight blockade of the Lokoja-Abuja Highway, during which several commuters were killed and others abducted, as well as an attack on joint military and vigilante forces in Koton Karfe LGA that reportedly claimed the lives of three vigilante members and injured several soldiers.
Originally from Katsina State, Bastuji was said to have first operated in Zamfara State alongside Kachalla Dan-Karami Gwaska before relocating his criminal network to Niger and Kwara states. Under sustained pressure from security operations, he and his gang were later forced to establish a base in the Asawa Mountains in Kogi LGA near Koton Karfe, from where they allegedly coordinated kidnappings and other violent attacks across the Kogi-Kwara axis.
Reacting to the development, a community leader, Bello Abdullahi, described Bastuji’s reported death 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.
Crediblenewsng.com
