Troops Kill Two Bandits, Arrest 12 In Zamfara, Katsina, Says DHQ

The Defence Headquarters on Monday, said its troops of Operation Sahel Sanity killed two bandits and apprehended 12 others in Katsina and Zamfara States.

The two bandits attempted to invade Gobirawa village of Katsina and were killed by the troops.

Several persons kidnapped by the bandits were also rescued by the troops.

This was disclosed in a statement by the Acting Director Defence Media Operations, Benard Onyeuko.

Onyeuko said these happened in the last one week.

He said: “On 28 August 2020, troops deployed in Maru laid ambush on suspected bandits who attempted to invade Gobirawa village but were repelled by combined efforts of troops and local vigilante.

“During the ambush, troops made contact with the armed bandits and engaged them with a heavy volume of firepower, neutralising two of them in the process, while others escaped with gunshot wounds as traces of blood were seen on their withdrawal route.

“On the same day, troops conducted a raid operation at some identified bandits’ hideouts at Gamji Village. During the operation, six suspected bandits were apprehended while troops recovered one dane gun, one motorcycle, and two cutlasses from the suspects.

“Troops deployed in Zakka, acting on credible intelligence, arrested three suspected armed bandits namely Sagar Garba, Hafisu Mato, and Suleiman Sada.

“Suspects were identified by locals to be members of a syndicate terrorising the general area. During preliminary investigation, the suspects confessed their involvement in recent cattle rustling activities at Kwaya, Sabon Birni, and Baure villages.”

The acting defence spokesman gave the names of other suspected bandits arrested by the troops.

He said one of the suspects, Zaiyanu Kaura belonged to a notorious gang terrorising the people of the North-Western Zone.

The others are Lawali Dahiru and Bello Abdurrahman.

According to him, all the rescued kidnapped victims were reunited with their families.

He added: “All arrested suspects are undergoing investigation while effort is ongoing to apprehend other criminals in the general area”.

Banditry is a recurring phenomenon in the north western states of Zamfara, Katsina and Kaduna amongst others.