Bandits Kill 2 Officers, 12 Soldiers In Niger

Bandits Kill 2 Officers, 12 Soldiers In Niger

According to a report by Sunnewsonline, bandits has killed two officers and twelve soldiers in Niger State.

There is palpable tension in the Nigerian military following the killing of two officers and 12 soldiers in a community in Niger State, near the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Several others were injured in the ambush. The wounded officers were taken to the Army headquarters, Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives Association (NAOWA) Hospital, Abuja, where some of them are said to be in critical conditions.

The soldiers from 102 Guards Battalion, under the Guards Brigade, were on an offensive operations after credible information revealed the presence of the bandits in their large numbers in the area when the came under fire.

The incident has thrown the entire Guards Brigade and the Nigerian Army into a mourning mood. The Mambila and Lungi Barracks have also been thrown into mourning as relatives, friends and colleagues of the deceased’s officers stormed homes of the deceased.

Daily Sun gathered from military sources that the 102 Guards Battalion had received intelligence on the presence of over 200 strange persons taking refuge in a forest not too from the headquarters of the Battalion, located at Zuma Barracks on the Abuja/Kaduna highway. It was gathered that the commanding officer in charge of the command mobilised soldiers to confirm the information which they found to be true. The commanding officer was said to have mobilised troops in about five operational vehicles and headed to attack the base.

It was gathered that the bandits who were over 400, sighted the soldiers and engaged them in a shoot out with heavy artillery powers.

In the cause of the attack, several soldiers were said to have been killed and others injured. Some soldiers, who could not stand the firepower of the bandits, were said to have escaped from the scene, while those who survived ran to the barracks, reported the matter while a reinforcement was deployed. Several bandits were said to have been killed by the soldiers sent on reinforcement.

The source told Daily Sun that the criminals, mostly foreigners, operated with motorcycles and sighted by villagers in the area.

When contacted, Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, said he was yet to confirm the incident and promised to get back to Daily Sun.

“I am yet to find out or get any information about the attack, I will get back to you as soon I find out,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Army has described the soldier who claimed to have gone missing in the bush in a video trending on the social media as a saboteur.

The soldier from Guards Brigade, S. Musa, reportedly ran away during an operation and abandoned his colleagues.

A top military officer who confirmed this to Daily Sun, said the soldier would be made to face the appropriate sanctions.

He did not state weather or not the soldier has been found and arrested by military authorities.

However, the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) said it had identified several camps, makeshift facilities and settlements used as logistics bases by bandits, terrorists and kidnappers in forests along the Abuja/Kaduna highways and train routes.

The camps located at Rijana, Katari and Kasarami are used to coordinate and launch attacks on innocent passengers on that route.

They have also become safe havens for kidnappers, bandits, drug addicts, gun runners, prostitutes, fleeing Boko Haram terrorists and other violent criminals.

Daily Sun gathered the revelations emerged at an emergency intelligence meeting called by the DIA following the attack on an Abuja-Kaduna train Tuesday night.

The meeting held at the DIA headquarters in Asokoro, Abuja was part of the outcome of the meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and the service chiefs.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Airforce (NAF) said it killed scores of bandits on Wednesday after obtaining intelligence on their movement of bandits along the Akilibu – Sarkin Pawa Road, near Mangoro Village. NAF aircraft engaged terrorists in different waves with rockets, while those fleeing were mopped up with canons decisively.

READ ALSO:  Niger Court Awards N1 Billion Against Transport Unions Over Road Blockade

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

x