****We Alerted the Military of Bandits’ Movement, Council Chairman
In a renewed wave of violence, heavily armed bandits numbering over 200 launched coordinated attacks on two military camps in Niger State’s Mariga Local Government Area, killing at least 20 soldiers and injuring several others.
The deadly assaults took place around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday at military bases in Kwanan Duse and Gulbin Boka communities. Witnesses and local officials described the attacks as intense and prolonged, with gun battles lasting nearly four hours.
The first attack targeted the camp at Kwanan Duse, where soldiers were caught off guard by the overwhelming number of assailants. Despite being outnumbered and surrounded, the troops resisted fiercely. Both sides reportedly suffered heavy casualties.
According to Mariga LGA Chairman, Abbas Adamu, the local government had earlier alerted military authorities at Kontagora Cantonment about the movement of suspected bandits through the Shadadi Forest, believed to be coming from neighboring Zamfara State. However, he noted that the attackers’ exact destination was unknown at the time.
“We didn’t know they were heading for the military camp. We only heard around 9:30 a.m. that the soldiers were under attack,” the chairman said in a phone interview.
While reinforcements were dispatched promptly, bad roads and rough terrain delayed their arrival. By then, the bandits had moved on to strike another military camp at Gulbin Boka, leading to a second deadly confrontation.
A local vigilante leader, Mallam Abubakar Sani, confirmed the attack and said additional soldiers were killed in the firefight at Gulbin Boka. He noted that while some bandits were also killed, the exact number was unclear as “they usually evacuate their dead.”
The bandits reportedly did not abduct anyone during the attacks but looted shops and made away with cattle from surrounding villages.
Chairman Abbas added that most residents had already fled the area due to persistent bandit attacks, leaving no one to alert the soldiers before the invasion.
He believes the motive of the bandits was to dislodge the military presence, which has curtailed their freedom to operate in the area. “Since the soldiers were stationed there, they’ve prevented frequent attacks on our communities,” he said.
As of 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, the bandits were still said to be hiding in the Gulbin Boka bush along the Kontagora-Rijau road, while security forces and local vigilantes were mobilizing for further action.
Neither the Niger State Government nor the Nigerian military had issued an official statement as of the time of filing this report.
