By Desire Emmanuel
The prompt arrival and the ambush laid by soldiers from Nigeria and Niger Republic thwarted the efforts by a bandits group to attack a community in Sokoto State, as the soldiers killed the bandits.
It was gathered that in the late hours of Saturday night into early Sunday, the bandits riding about six motorcycles attempted to launch an attack on Abara village in the Sabon-Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
Security sources told Impact Nigeria News Online on Monday evening that when the bandits got to a certain point, they parked their motorcycles and crossed the main road on foot, unaware that Nigerian troops had received intelligence reports about their movement.
The soldiers were said to have immediately moved into Abara to repel the attack, while local vigilantes from Abara and Kyalkyale communities also mobilised to support the operation.
The sources said the combined firepower from the soldiers and vigilantes forced the bandits to retreat into nearby farmlands and as they tried to return to where they parked their motorcycles in order to escape, they walked into a Nigerien military patrol ambush, which had earlier found the bikes they suspected to belong to the marauders and taken positions around them.
The sources said when the bandits arrived, the Nigerien soldiers opened fire, killing all of them on the spot.
However, one of the bandits who did not go with those killed because he hid inside the house of a resident in a nearby village was apprehended when the owner of the house came in and saw him.According to the sources, the bandit had jumped into an empty house, removed his clothes, and wore that of the owner of the house in an attempt to look like one of the villagers.
“When the owner returned and found him inside, the bandit begged him not to be handed over to vigilantes, offering his phone instead. He was immediately arrested and turned over to security operatives,” one of the sources disclosed.
The community leaders were said to have praised both the soldiers from Nigeria and those on patrol from Niger Republic for saving them from what could have been a deadly raid on their community.
