A joint team of police and military personnel has killed scores of suspected bandits during a fierce gun battle in Maikujera, Rabah Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
The operation followed intelligence received by the Divisional Police Officer in Rabah that a large group of armed bandits, reportedly carrying sophisticated weapons and moving with rustled livestock, was heading towards Maikujera before proceeding to its camp in the notorious Gundumi Forest.
The security team, comprising police tactical units and military personnel from a forward operating base, reportedly blocked the bandits’ route and engaged them in a gun battle.
According to the Sokoto State Police Command, the security forces used superior firepower and tactical manoeuvres to overwhelm the attackers, forcing some of them to retreat into the surrounding forest with gunshot wounds.
A subsequent search of the area led to the recovery of several bodies believed to be those of the bandits, as well as 15 motorcycles allegedly belonging to the group.
Security personnel also recovered two AK-47 rifles, 52 rounds of live ammunition and 62 rustled animals during the operation. The police said the owners of the recovered livestock had been identified and would have the animals returned to them.
The Nigerian Army separately described the operation as “hugely successful”, although its spokesperson, Lt.-Col. Olaniyi Osoba, did not immediately provide further details about the number of casualties recorded among the bandits.
Local sources said the bandits were allegedly linked to notorious bandit leader Bello Turji and had been moving rustled cattle from Gandi and surrounding communities through the Gundumi Forest towards suspected hideouts in Sabon Birni and Isa Local Government Areas.
The confrontation reportedly forced several of the fleeing bandits into nearby bushes and farms, while some allegedly abandoned their weapons as they attempted to escape.
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