48 Bandits Arrested, 15 Killed In Two Weeks – DHQ

Forty-eight bandits operating in the North-West and North-Central have been arrested by troops of the Nigerian Army.

According to the Defence Headquarters (DHQ), fifteen other criminals terrorising the two regions have been killed between October 29 and November 11, 2021.

The DHQ disclosed that 12 assorted arms and 77 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition were recovered from the criminals within the period.

The Defence Headquarters added that troops rescued 42 kidnapped victims in different operations across the zones during the period under review.

DHQ spokesman, Bernard Onyeuko, made these known on Thursday while giving an update on the operations of the Nigerian military in the last two weeks.

He said under Operation Hadarin Daji, troops arrested 16 criminal elements, killed 13 bandits and rescued six kidnapped civilians in the North West.

Under Operation Safe Haven, Onyeuko said the troops maintained continuous vigilance with constant land and air patrols to deny criminal elements “freedom of action”.

He said the general security situation in the Plateau had been relatively calm within the period in spite of pockets of incidents recorded in some locations.

The DHQ spokesman added that troops rescued 33 other kidnapped victims from bandits and arrested 23 “criminal elements” within the period.

Under Operation Whirl Stroke, Onyeuko said the troops carried out clearance operations in parts of Benue and Nasarawa states, leading to the arrest of nine bandits, while two gunmen were killed and three victims were rescued.

According to him, 19 arms including AK-47 rifles, machine guns, two locally-made pistols, six extra rifle magazines and 79 rounds of ammunition were recovered.