ABUJA, Nigeria
A day after bandits killed 63 vigilantes in Nigeria’s North West Kebbi state, 19 military and security personnel have also been killed in an ambush on the state's deputy governor who was in the area to deliver his condolences.
The security officers were
killed on March 8, 2022 while defending the motorcade of Mr Samaila Yombe
Dabai, the deputy governor of Kebbi State, against the marauding bandits.
The deputy governor’s convoy
was attacked while on his way back from Danko-Wassagu Local Government Area of
the state where he visited some communities which were attacked by the bandits
who killed the vigilantes.
Part of the itinerary for the
trip also included an assessment of the structure and logistics for military
operatives in the area.
The special adviser to the
deputy governor, Mr Abdullahi Musa, the deputy governor and his motorcade were
attacked in Kanya village after visiting some communities in the local
government area.
“It was face to face with the
bandits and the deputy governor who is a retired army colonel still has some
military techniques which also helped him during the shootout with the
bandits,” Mr Musa said.
“He was not alone. He was
accompanied by top military officers in the state, about 36 of them,” Mr Musa
reported on Wednesday night.
Mr Abdullahi Abubakar, a
native of Danko-Wassagu, said the armed bandits rode on motorcycles and laid
ambush for the convoy of the deputy governor in Kanya village.
Nigerian
President Muhammadu Buhari had confirmed the killing of at least 63
vigilantes from five communities of Kebbi State in an ambush on Sunday
evening.
He expressed sadness over what
he described as "the brutal murder of tens of vigilante members in Kebbi
State by bandits who ambushed them in the Sakaba/Wassagu Local Government
Area".
"This egregious level of
criminality is shocking and I want to assure Nigerians that I will do all it
takes to tackle this monster decisively," President Buhari said.
"My greatest
preoccupation is the threat to life posed by these murderous gangs and
remorseless outlaws who have no slightest regard for the sanctity of life.”
Meanwhile, police in North
West Katsina State have repelled a bandit attack and recovered six of their
operational motorcycles in Barawa village in Batagarawa Local Government while
200 suspected bandits have been arrested in Kaduna state.
Police Spokesman Gambo Isah said
in Katsina on Thursday that villagers sighted the terrorists in their numbers
on motorcycles and armed with AK-47 rifles and alerted the police.
“A combined team of police and
military personnel was mobilised to the area. It engaged the hoodlums in a
fierce gun duel and successfully repelled them.
“The operational strategy and
gallantry displayed by the combined team made the terrorists to abandon their
mission and fled.
“While scanning the scene,
five operational motorcycles [belonging to] the bandits were recovered and
burnt. Another motorcycle was recovered in Barawa Forest. Many of bandits
escaped the scene with gunshot wounds.
“Members of the community are
enjoined to report to the nearest security formation any person found with
suspicious injury,’’ Mr Isah said.
At the same time, the Kaduna
command’s Public Relations Officer Mohammed Jalige said the command recovered
18 AK-47 Rifles, 2,000 live ammunitions of different calibres, 11 pump action
guns, 10 locally fabricated pistols, 140 shotguns, 12-guage cartridges, seven
motor vehicles of different brands and nine motorcycles.
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