Gunmen killed11 security operatives in Kebbi, Niger attacks

Gunmen on Tuesday killed 11 security personnel, including seven policemen and four vigilantes, in attacks in Kebbi and Niger states.

Northwest and central Nigeria have been terrorised for years by the gangs who raid and loot villages, steal cattle and carry out mass abductions of residents for ransom.

But recently attacks have intensified despite military attempts to drive bandits out of their camps in forests.
In the first attack on Tuesday, scores of bandits stormed a police station in central Niger state’s Magama district around 1200 GMT, leading to a gunfight with policemen and local militia, Wasiu Biodun, Niger police spokesman said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, during the gun battle, the DPO (Divisional Police Officer), two other policemen, and four vigilante members lost their lives,” Biodun said in the statement.

Several bandits were also “neutralised” in the “fierce gun battle” in which many of the attackers escaped with injuries, the statement said.

Police personnel deployed in the area after the attacks to maintain order, Biodun said.

In the second attack in neighbouring Kebbi state, motorcycle-riding bandits numbering around 500 invaded a tomato-processing factory in Gafara village of Ngaski district, in a bid to abduct expatriate workers, Nafiu Abubakar, Kebbi state police spokesman said.

“The policemen guarding the factory engaged the bandits in a gunfight, which led to the death of four policemen and one resident while several of the gunmen were also killed,” Abubakar said.