Military kills 9 bandits on Kaduna-Abuja Road

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▪︎Troops foil bandits’ attempt to move rustled cattle

The Kaduna State Government said military securing the Kaduna-Abuja Road general area, had neutralized nine bandits following a firefight late on Monday night into the early hours of Tuesday.

According to the State Commissioner, Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, the operational feedback by the State Government showed that troops acted on intelligence that the bandits were attempting to cross over from the eastern part of the Kaduna-Abuja road to the western part, with a large herd of rustled cattle.

Aruwan said the herders whose cattle had been rustled from the eastern part of the route alerted the military to immediate action.

He said an ambush was successfully laid by the troops, as the bandits walked into the killing zone and were welcomed with a hail of bullets.

Aruwan said after the firefight, a search of the area yielded the following: one empty magazine, one set of complete army camouflage, one set of desert boots, seven blankets, two Tecno mobile phones, one caftan outfit and ropes for tying cattle.

He said a further search Tuesday (December 29, 2020) morning disclosed the corpse of one bandit, 16 dead cows and three wounded cows.

Aruwan added that seven more bandits died from ferocious gunshot wounds sustained in the ambush, as their bodies were mutilated.

He said the troops, as of the time of this update, were still conducting vigorous search patrols in the general area.

In separate feedback, troops and police on Tuesday morning foiled another attempt by bandits to cross the Kaduna-Abuja highway with rustled cattle, this time around the Greenfield University.

Aruwan said the troops, guided by some local volunteers who pointed them in the direction of the bandits’ movement, engaged the criminals in a firefight.

He said one of the local volunteers lost his life and one bandit’s corpse was found, along with several rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition.

He said Governor Nasir el-Rufai, on receiving the feedback, congratulated the security agencies on the successful operations, and urged them to sustain the tempo in the ongoing offensives against bandits.

He sent his condolences to the family of the volunteer who lost his life, and prayed for the repose of his soul.

The Governor also appealed to locals to always raise the alarm in all cases and not only when they were directly affected, as banditry ultimately affected everyone.

The Commissioner enjoined locals in villages around Jakada-darabi, Gwanto, Kasarami, Kankomi, Chikwari and neighbouring locations in Chikun and Kajuru local government areas to report any person found seeking medical attention for suspicious wounds.