Army neutralises 48 bandits, recovers rounds of ammunition, rescues 18 victims

No fewer than 48 armed bandits were said to have been neutralised by troops of 8 Division, Nigerian Army operating in Zamfara and adjoining States

Nigerian Army, in a statement signed by Brigadier General Mohammed Yerima, its Director  of Public Relations said the troops successfully cleared many bandits’ camps in Jaya, Kadaya, and Bayan Ruwa amongst several others and successfully neutralised 48 bandits.

Yerima, in the statement  added that the bandits’ leader in the area Jummo sustained a gunshot wound to his leg and the troops rescued 18 kidnapped victims from the bandits’ enclave.

Also eight AK-47 rifles and one G3 rifle, as well as one PKT and a machine gun were recovered from the bandits.

The Division had earlier launched Operation Tsare Mutane following the directives of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru for the Division to stabilise the area in order to facilitate the return of socio-economic activities.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Division, Maj Gen Usman Yusuf launched the first phase of Operation Tsare Mutane which lasted from 23 March to 2 April 2021 in Maradun LGA of Zamfara State.

The statement reads , “In continuation with the second phase of Operation Tsare Mutane, troops sacked several other bandits’ camps around Gabiya, Bozaya, and Mereri and the adjoining forests in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State from 19 April to 3 May 2021.

“The areas which were heavily infested by bandits were successfully cleared by the highly spirited troops.

“Key bandits’ leaders including Yellow Mai-Bille, Sani Meli, Dan-Katsina, and Sama’ila Bakajin Bari were neutralised in the process while the main leader Nasanda narrowly escaped with fatal injuries.

“Equally neutralised in the operation was one Isan Heshi who is a close ally of a notorious bandit called Nagala. Isan Heshi was the second in command to Heshi before he joined Nagala following Heshi’s death in an earlier operation”.

Items recovered in the second phase of Operation Tsare Mutane included 4,600 rounds of ammunition, two AK-103 rifles, eight AK-47 magazines, 1,628 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, fifty-four rounds of PKM as well as one motorcycle and five Techno mobile phones.