Troops Kill 20 Bandits, Rescue Kidnapped Victims in Niger

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja 

The operatives of the Joint Security Task Force have killed 20 bandits and rescued five kidnap victims during a clearance operation in Gaskiya Bana, a border community between Niger and Kaduna States.

Likewise, the Department of State Services (DSS) promised to deal ruthlessly with terrorists, bandits and other subversive elements threatening the peace of the country.

The kidnapped victims were said to have been in the custody of the bandits for over one month.

The bandits were said to be working for a notorious bandits Kingpin Alhaji Leyi who has his operational base at Gaskiya Bana in Munya LGA. The operation lasted for about five hours.

Niger State Commissioner for Internal Security and Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Emmanuel Umar confirmed the incident.

He said saying the taskforce invaded the terrorist hideout who abandoned their victims and loot.

According to Umar, the task force ran into an ambush by the terrorists at Unguwan Aboki but were able to repelled them as scores were neutralised and others forced to retreat.

The commissioner identified the rescued victims as Yakubu Abuba, Susan Sunday, Patience Sunday, Lazarus John and Bulus Yahaya adding that they were all abducted from Chukun village in Kaduna State about a month ago.

 “All the victims have been debriefed and since reunited with their families after medical examination,” he said.

He commended the efforts of the security agencies and other stakeholders in mitigating the spate of terrorists activities in the state.

Meanwhile, the Director-General DSS, Yusuf Bichi, has vowed to deal ruthlessly with terrorists, bandits and other subversive elements threatening the peace of the country.

Bichi said this yesterday at the graduation ceremony held in honour of participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC15), at the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS), Abuja.

A total of 74 participants of the directorate/executive cadre, drawn from Nigeria, the Gambia, Ghana, as well as Niger Republic, participated in the 2022 course.

Bichi warned against attempts by subversive elements to undermine the authority, unity and corporate existence of the nation.

According to him, security is a whole-of-society-approach, hence the need members of the public to support and cooperate with the military, and other security agencies in the country.

“Our destiny is in our hands, and it is time to say enough is enough. My Service will not allow anybody to mess up this country. If you attack our structures, we will attack you. If you attack our men, we will attack you. It is tit-for-for-tat. The way God created Nigeria, nobody can dismantle this nation,” he said.

The DG SS maintained that it “is better to unite than to be scattered. Let us not allow ourselves to be instigated to see ourselves as enemies.”

On inter-agency synergy, he said: “Let me assure you that the DSS has come of age. We will continue to partner with the military, and other sister agencies to tackle the insecurity in the country.

“Nigeria will surmount the challenges of insecurity caused by terrorism and banditry. Nigeria is not a failed state: Nigeria has all the indices of a great nation,” the director-general.