Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
Bandits numbering over 200 have invaded two Military Camps in Kwanan Duse and Gulbin Boka communities in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State, killing 20 soldiers.
It was gathered that the latest incident occured at about 9:30am on Tuesday when the Soldiers were said to be in their camps.
The first point of call by the bandits was the Military Camp at Kwanan Duse where they engaged the uniform men in a fierce gun battle which lasted for almost four hours.
Although the bandits out numbered the Soldiers and surrounded their camp, firing from different directions, both sides suffered heavy casualties.
While the gun battle at Kwanan Duse was going on, the Chairman of the local government, Abbas Adamu was said to have alerted the military high command in Kontagora Military Cantonment and called for reinforcement which the Military complied immediately.
However, according to him, the bad roads in the area, coupled with the difficult terrain, the bandits left the village after they have delt a heavy blow on the military and moved to another camp at Gulbin Boka before their arrival.
But according to the head of vigilante group in the area, Mallam Abubakar Sani who also confirmed the incident, the bandits equally engaged the Soldiers stationed in Gulbin Boka village in another gun battle, killing a number of them.
He disclosed that some of the bandits were killed but said he could not asertain the number because “they usually execute their dead ones.
However the Council Chairman told our correspondent on phone that the Gunmen suspected to have come from Zamfara, through the Shadadi forest, saying that they got information about their movement which he shared with the Military.
“But we did not know where they were heading to, only for us to here in the morning around 9:30 that they were attacking the Soldiers at Kwanan Duse”.
He stated further that the people have before now relocated from all the villages around Kwanan Duse due to the activities of the bandits and therefore nobody could alert the Soldiers that they were heading to their camp.
The Chairman pointed out that the aim of the bandits was to dislodged the Military from its Camps “because since the Soldiers were stationed there, they has prevented them (bandits) from frequent attacks on the communities.
“The bandits did not kidnap anybody, we learnt that the went with some cattle from the neighboring communities but shops were looted at Gulbin Boka town”.
He however said that as at 4:00pm yesterday (Tuesday), the bandits were still in the bush at Gulbin Boka, along Kontagora-Rijau road while the Military in conjunction with local Vigilantes have been mobilized to the area.
Neither the state government nor the Military is yet to issue any statement on the incident as at the time of filing this report.