Nine bandits killed along Kaduna-Abuja highway – Commissioner

TROOPS of the Nigerian Army, on Monday night, ambushed and killed no fewer than nine bandits along Kaduna-Abuja expressway.

The state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, confirmed this on Tuesday.

The commissioner said the state was informed of the incident by military authorities.

Aruwan said 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 and promptly acted.

He said the herders whose cattle had been rustled from the eastern part of the route also alerted the military for immediate action.

The commissioner noted that against this backdrop, 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 listed items recovered at the crime scene to include one empty magazine, one set of complete army camouflage, one set of desert boots, seven blankets, two Tecno mobile phones and one caftan outfit as well as ropes for tying cattle.

He added that “a further search revealed the corpse of one bandit, 16 dead cows and three wounded cows. Furthermore, seven more bandits died from ferocious gunshot wounds sustained in the ambush, as their bodies were mutilated,” he added.

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

"The troops, guided by some local volunteers who pointed them in the direction of the bandits’ movement, engaged the criminals in a firefight. Sadly, one of the local volunteers lost his life.

“One bandit’s corpse was found along with several rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition,” he said.