Scores of bandits have been killed in a joint operation between the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) in Bassa, Niger State. The bandits were killed during a failed invasion of the security forces base at Bassa in Shiroro Local Government Area of the state.
Vigil360 was reliably informed that scores of bandits attacked the camp of security forces in the area, where the troops have been denying them freedom of movement and operation. According to sources familiar with the incident, the bandits were believed to have come from Allawa where they launched the attack.
A high-placed source disclosed that the troops at the camp engaged the bandits in a gun duel with many of them sustaining fatal injuries. The Security forces later called for air support which swiftly arrived leading to the death of scores of bandits from the air bombardment.
The source also revealed that Shiroro area is largely known as the enclave of bandit leader Dogo Gide, who has held sway in the area with hundreds of his boys. Gide was believed to have allied with Islamic State-linked jihadists unleashing terror on citizens in the area. Gide’s criminal gangs raid villages, kill and abduct residents for ransom while looting and burning houses.
The source also noted that high-caliber weapons, handheld radios, motorcycles, and over thirty bodies of bandits have so far been recovered. Meanwhile, locals have been warned against providing medical assistance to questionable characters with gunshot wounds in the area without recourse to security agencies.
The development comes as a breath of fresh air given the spate of attacks in recent times in the Northwest states of Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Zamfara, and Jigawa states, as well as Niger, Kogi, and Nasarawa States.
