Metro

20 Soldiers, Scores Of Bandits Die In Niger Clash

Published

3 months ago

June 26, 2025

We lost 17 men, not 20 —Army

No fewer than 20 soldiers were reportedly killed by bandits, who stormed two military camps in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State on Tuesday while several others were injured.

However, an unspecified number of the bandits were gunned down by the soldiers during the gun battle that ensued.

But the army said 17 soldiers were killed in the encounter.

Seventeen corpses of the soldiers were, however, said to have been recovered from the bush while the search for the recovery of others continues.

This came as the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Gen. Christopher Musa, at a different event, said the military was set to deploy over 800 well-trained and combat-ready special forces into operational areas to tackle a myriad of security challenges facing the nation.

Vanguard gathered that the bandits numbering over 200 rode on motorcycles and invaded two military camps in Kwanan Duse and Gulbin Boka communities in Mariga council of the state in the morning.

According to a source from the area, the bandits’ first point of call was the military camp at Kwanan Duse, where they engaged the security men in a fierce gun battle, which lasted for about four hours.

It was gathered that the chairman of the Mariga council, Abbas Adamu, immediately alerted the Military Cantonment in Kontagora for reinforcement, while the gun battle at Kwanan Duse was going on.

In a swift response, the soldiers from Kontagora took off but before their arrival at the Kwanan Dutse camp, the bandits had left for Gulbin Boka camp for another onslaught against the soldiers.

However, the soldiers engaged the bandits in a fierce gun battle at Gulbin Boka camp where some of the bandits were felled by the bullets.

Adamu, who confirmed the incident said the gunmen were suspected to have invaded the state from Zamfara, through the Shadadi forest.

He said: “We got the information about their movement and we immediately alerted the Military but we did not actually know where they were heading to.

“Surprisingly, about 9:30a.m., on Tuesday, we learnt they were already attacking the soldiers at Kwanan Duse.

“The bandits did not kidnap anybody but lives were lost, shops looted at Gulbin Boka town while several cattle were rustled from the neighbouring communities.

“From all indications, the aim of the bandits was to dislodge the military from their camps and have unhindered access to some communities in the council because since the soldiers were stationed there, the bandits have been prevented from frequent attacks on the communities.”

Head of vigilante group in the area, Mallam Abubakar Sani also confirmed the incident but could not ascertain the casualty figure on the side of the bandits.

Meanwhile, the military in conjunction with the local vigilante have mobilised to Gulbin Boka forest along Kontagora-Rijau road suspected to be the hideouts of the bandits.

At press time, no official statement has been issued by either the state government or the military.

We lost 17 men —Army

Lieutenant Colonel Apolonia Anele, Acting Director, Army Public Relations in a statement, said that the troops in collaboration with the Air Component of the Nigerian Air Force, engaged bandits numbering over 300 in Kwanar Dutse Forest.

He said: “Sadly 17 brave and gallant soldiers paid the supreme price during the encounter, while 10 others sustained varying degrees of injury.

“The wounded personnel have been evacuated to a military medical facility, where they are receiving treatment and are in stable condition.”

(VANGUARD)

Related Topics:Army Bandits Terrorists Troops

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Metro

Abuja Court Jails Ex-legislative Aide For N120m Fraud

Published

11 hours ago

September 23, 2025

Editor

A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Jabi on Monday sentenced a former legislative aide and banker, Mr Goni Yilkan, to eight years in prison for obtaining N120.58 million by false pretence.

Justice F. E. Messiri found Yilkan guilty of a two-count employment scam charge, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission revealed in a statement issued via its X handle on Tuesday.

“Yilkan, who hails from Nguru, Yobe State, was found guilty on a two-count charge of obtaining money by false pretence, contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act, and consequently sentenced to eight years imprisonment without option of fine,” the statement read.

According to EFCC, the convict was arraigned alongside one Mohammed Adamu in October 2023, following investigations into a petitioner’s claims of being defrauded by the convict.

One of the charges read: “That you, Mohammed Goni Yilkan, Mohammed Adamu and others at large between 3rd January 2020 and December 2021 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N120, 580, 550 (One Hundred and Twenty Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty Naira) from Mrs. Hindatu Bello under the false pretence that you had the capacity to secure jobs for her candidates in various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria which pretence you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

In the course of the trial, EFCC said the petitioner explained that “Yilkan deceived her between 2020 and 2021 into believing that he had the capacity to secure employment slots in government agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

“On this strength, the petitioner collected varying sums of money from over 60 jobseekers, amounting to N120,580,550.00 (One Hundred and Twenty Million, Five Hundred and Eighty Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty Naira), which she allegedly remitted to the convict.”

However, the purported employment offers never materialised, prompting Bello to petition the EFCC.

The prosecution, led by Cosmas Ugwu, called six witnesses and tendered documentary evidence, while the defence, led by J.A. Oguche, presented two witnesses, including Yilkan himself.

In his judgment, Justice Messiri held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, convicted Yilkan, but discharged and acquitted his co-defendant, Adamu.

The judge further sentenced Yilkan to eight years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.

Earlier, The PUNCH reported that the EFCC Ilorin Zonal Directorate arrested 28 suspected internet fraudsters in Kwara State.

The suspects, according to a statement on Monday, “were picked up in the early hours of Tuesday during sting operations carried out in Tanke, University Road, Oshin, and Agbabiaka areas of the state capital.”

Metro

Soldiers Who Sold Arms To Terrorists Sentenced To Death

Published

11 hours ago

September 23, 2025

Editor

A special court-martial of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri, Borno State, has sentenced three soldiers to life imprisonment and another to 15 years for illegal arms deals carried out in connivance with police officers and terrorists.

The trial, presided over by Brigadier General Ugochukwu Unachukwu, acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division and Commander of Sector 1, Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), took place at the Officers’ Mess of the Theatre Command Headquarters in Maiduguri.

Delivering judgment, Brigadier General Mohammed Abdullahi, president of the court-martial, pronounced Raphael Ameh, a sergeant; Ejiga Musa, a sergeant; and Patrick Ocheje, a lance corporal, guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

Omitoye Rufus, a corporal, was however handed a 15-year jail term.

The soldiers were convicted of offences ranging from theft and unlawful dealing in ammunition to aiding the enemy, all punishable under the Armed Forces Act.

Ameh, who served as an armourer at the 7 Division Garrison, was found to have conspired with a deceased colleague to steal ammunition from the division’s armoury.

He worked with police officers to conceal weapons in bags of beans and smuggle them to Enugu and Ebonyi for criminals.

Abdullahi revealed that bank records linked Ameh to over 100 suspicious transactions between July 2022 and June 2024.

Musa, while serving as armourer of 195 Battalion, was discovered to have collaborated with Ocheje and police officers in selling an AK-47 rifle and large quantities of ammunition.

Records showed he collected more than ₦500,000 from the transactions before he was arrested while attempting to sell more ammunition.

Rufus was convicted for selling 40 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition to a police officer, while Ocheje, who was deployed at the forward operating base in Molai, was found guilty of diverting ammunition during communal clashes at the instigation of a police officer.

He also stole an AK-47 rifle belonging to a colleague.

The court held that their actions directly endangered military operations and national security, amounting to aiding the enemy.

Condemning the convicts, Abdullahi described them as “bad eggs” who betrayed the trust, discipline, and honour expected of soldiers in the fight against insurgency.

He restated the army’s zero-tolerance stance on the sale of arms or ammunition to adversaries “in whatever form or guise.”

Metro

BREAKING: Bodies Of 8 Missing Policemen Recovered In Benue

Published

2 days ago

September 22, 2025

Editor

Lifeless bodies of the eight policemen who were declared missing after a deadly attack on security operatives at Agu Centre, on the border of Katsina-Ala and Ukum LGAs of Benue State, have been recovered.

Dr Justin Shaku, Chairman of Katsina-Ala LGA disclosed this to reporters in Makurdi on Monday.

According to him, “this brings the number of officers killed to 11 (10 policemen and one BSCPG)”.

The unfortunate incident occurred on Friday, when a team of security operatives came under the attack of armed invaders.

Three personnel were immediately confirmed dead while eight others were declared missing.