• Miyetti Allah vigilantes, hoodlums duel in Plateau ambush
Bandits have attacked some communities in Mariga Local Council of Niger State, killing 13 people, including security operatives, and injuring others in the process.
Residents said the July 8 onslaught at 4:00 p.m. saw the assailants, in their large numbers, brandishing sophisticated weapons in about 100 motorcycles, arriving from Zamfara State.
According to reports, the affected three communities are Kumbashi, Bangi and Mongoro. The council chairman, Alhaji Abbas Kasuwa Garba, confirmed the attack, but could not give an exact casualty figure.
Spokesperson for the state police command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, could not be reached for comments. But the Special Adviser to Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago on Media Strategy and Communication, Jonathan Tsado Vatsa has enjoined Nigerians to return to their culture and traditional ways of fighting insecurity in their communities.
He told newsmen in Minna that the strategy being adopted by security operatives in fighting insurgency, banditry and Boko Haram had not yielded desired results over the years.
Vatsa advised rural communities to adopt traditional ways of defending themselves by emulating the Lafiagi and Patigi communities of Kwara State in the face of the worsening insecurity in the country.
IN neighbouring Kwara, no fewer than 20 bandits have died mysteriously in parts of the state. The Guardian reliably gathered that 20 outlaws have been reported dead in the Patigi council area.
In many of the attacks that generated concerns even beyond the state, businessmen and wealthy residents have been kidnapped and forced to pay millions of naira in ransom. Our reporter learnt that the ugly experiences that defied military interventions forced some spiritually powerful Nupe women to storm the arena.
According to information, no fewer than 20 armed men have died in their settlements in the forest. Consequently, a source stated that the bandits, who had requested N200 million from the villagers as a condition for peace, have begun seeking forgiveness. A source said: “We mobilised ourselves after many intolerable experiences in the hands of these bandits.
“We took our destiny in our hands to liberate ourselves after we realised that the local vigilantes and the Army wouldn’t rescue us from the clutches of these bandits. ”
WHILE in nearby Plateau, suspected bandits and members of the Miyetti Allah vigilante group exchanged gunfire in Odare Forest, near Kukawa village in Dengi District of Kanam Local Council of the state. Security expert, Zagazola Makama, confirmed the incident in a post shared on his X handle yesterday.
According to the post, the incident happened July 7, around 4:30 p.m., when the vigilantes reportedly stormed the forest.
“They were suddenly ambushed by armed bandits, leading to a heavy exchange of gunfire,” Makama wrote. According to him, community sources said the clash resulted in casualties on both sides, although the exact number of casualties and injuries remains hazy.
“A joint security team responded to a distress call and moved to the area, but thick forest and difficult terrain have made access challenging. For now, efforts to fully assess the situation inside the forest have not been successful due to security risks,” Makama added.
Meanwhile, the military and other security agencies have launched a coordinated operation to gain control of the area and confirm the extent of the incident.
Authorities have urged residents of nearby communities to stay alert and report any suspicious movement. This is even as the group’s leader in the Wase council area, Abdullahi Hussaini, restated the vow of the body to fight on until they rid the state of terrorists.
Hussaini, who said he was one of those who participated in the operation, stated that despite the heavy casualties, the group would not retreat.
