from EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
ABUJA, (CAJ News) – AT least 40 people have been killed during attacks by bandits in northwestern Nigeria.
The bandits suffered the worst casualties with 30 of them killed after security forces intervened in the simultaneous attacks in some villages in the Zamfara State.
In the course of the battle with assailants, the operatives reported the discovery of about ten corpses of the villagers.
Mohammed Shehu, Zamfara police spokesman, said mop up operations were ongoing with a view to arresting the perpetrators of the attack.
“Further details of the operation will be communicated in due course,” he added.
The Zamfara State Command warned the armed bandits to either surrender their arms and embrace peace or face consequences.
“Police operatives of the command are enjoined to defend themselves aggressively in any engagement with bandits and ensure that they dominate the ungovern spaces on the continuous basis,” Shehu said.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country of more than 200 million people is also one of the most volatile nations in the continent.
Banditry has been an issue for decades with successive government struggling to contain it.
It has been reported the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, in power since 2015, and armed bandits are deadlocked over possible amnesty to curtail the crisis.
– CAJ News