Bandits retreat after heavy casualties in Niger

• Scores killed, motorcycles destroyed

From John Adams, Minna

After two days of battle with the Army in some communities in Niger State, suspected terrorists beat a retreat after suffering heavy casualties.

The bandits who crossed over to the state in their numbers en route Kaduna from Zamfara State on Saturday spent the night in Kusasu community in Shiroro Local Government Area before invading some communities in Munya and Paikoro local government areas on Sunday.

According to community sources conversant with the movements of the bandits told our Correspondent that the bandits were targeting a large number of cattle at Daza, Bani, Ishau, and Zubakpere communities all in Kafin-Koro district of Paikoro local government area.

“I think their mission was to go and rustle cattle at Kafin Koro area because there is a large number of cows in that axis. They didn’t kill or abduct anyone.”

The bandits who escaped airstrike on Saturday night in Kusasu met their Waterloo in the hands of some soldiers providing security for a company said to be laying a gas pipeline along the axis where scores of them (bandits) were neutralised.

The battle which started on Sunday became intense after soldiers got massive reinforcement with the arrival of additional troops in Kafin-Koro on Monday. This led to severe casualties on the side of the bandits.

A reliable source close to the Kafin-Koro community estimated the number of the bandits killed to be over 50 while a number of motorcycles were either destroyed or abandoned by the fleeing gunmen.

“Unlike before when they (bandits) will evacuate bodies of their dead colleagues, this time around they abandoned them because of the number. They also lost their motorcycles in the battle”.

The bandits, however, damaged two tyres of an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) belonging to the Army.

It was gathered that despite the heavy casualties, the bandits who were in three groups, managed to escape with some cattle on Monday night after the gun duel subsided.

“While some groups engaged the soldiers in a fierce gun battle, another group was moving with the cattle away through the pipeline. They came purposely because of the cattle and they succeeded in moving some.”

Also, reports from Sarkin Pawa, headquarters of Munya Local Government Area yesterday indicated that the bandits were sighted moving with the rustled cattle at about 6am heading towards Kusasu community, their familiar route.

“This morning (Tuesday) around 6:00am, we saw them crossing the Sarkin Pawa highway about two kilometers from a military checkpoint. They were shooting sporadically at the direction of the soldiers at the checkpoint and the soldiers responded.

“The sound of the gun lasted for over one hour but we don’t know if there was casualty on the side of either the bandits or the soldiers but the bandits successfully crossed with their cattle, and headed towards Kusasu,” the source added.

It was gathered that Kusasu community remains the safest route for the bandits who usually come from Zamfara to operate in Niger State.

On Saturday, the Army claimed to have killed scores of bandits in an airstrike in Kusasu but the community insisted that the casualties were mainly civilians, saying seven houses were affected by the airstrike.

Daily Sun, however, could not independently verify the claims as the community has remained inaccessible to both security agents and journalists due to activities of bandits in the area.