Nigeria Loses 11 Soldiers

No fewer  than 8 suspected armed bandits who have been terrorizing Kopa, Dagma and Gagaw villages of Bosso Local Government Area, Niger State, have been killed, while 57 others were arrested by the Nigerian army. The incident, according  the army authority, followed covert surveillance and intelligence reports on the activities of the gun runners by troops of 31 Artillery Brigade, 1 Division, Nigerian Army, in conjunction with Nigeria Air Force detachment on Internal Security  Operations, MESA.
It was disclosed that  8 soldiers of the Nigerian Army and two Airmen of the Nigeria Air Force lost their lives in the line of national duty, adding that ‘one soldier is still missing, while two of their colleagues were seriously injured’.
According to the report, “The suspected gun runners and armed bandits also burnt down 4 operational vehicles and vandalized two others.  The bandits carted away 4 AK-47 rifles and one Fabrique Nationale (FN) rifle belonging to the deceased soldiers. The report also revealed that  troops  killed 8 of the armed bandits and arrested 57 others. They recovered large quantity of arms and ammunition.”
It was  pointed out that, the items  recovered includes; three AK-47 rifles, 10 local AK-47 Rifles, nine locally made Pistols, 6 Revolver guns, which fires 7.62mm (Special ammunition), 45 loaded dane guns, 10 clubs and cudgels, 41 arrows, 18 bow cases, 122 cutlasses and machetes as well as  20 daggers.”
Other items recovered include 31 Axes, 63 rounds of 7.62 (Special) Ammunition, 10 Bajaj Motorcycles, Assorted Charms and Amulets, two vehicles, 38 mobile telephone handsets, a wristwatch, 5Identity Cards, Passport Photographs, Cash sum of N23,870.00k, 5 Japanese Yen and 35 different denominations of  old Nigerian currency, 15 Catapults, 8 torchlights, 2 gun powder bottles, four empty cases of Ammunition and 41 Cartridges.Furthermore, the troops seized a military Waist Belt and a pair of military Combat Boots.”
Moreover, attributing the nefarious activities of the gun runners and the armed bandits to the influx of weapons and general insecurity in some parts of the Federal Capital Territory and the North West geo-political zone of the country, the army revealed that  the same gun runners had links with armed robbery gangs that were involved in series of attacks along Minna-Bida road, also pointed out  that all those involved would be brought to justice.