Troops of 8 Division, Nigerian Army operating in Zamfara and adjoining States made tremendous progress in the ongoing fight against banditry and other violent crimes in the North West.
Nigerian troops have busted many bandit camps in Jaya, Kadaya and Bayan Ruwa area of Zamfara State, neutralising no fewer than 48 bandits during the operation.
Nigerian Army spokesperson, Mohammed Yerima, who made the disclosure in a statement on Monday, say the bandit leader in the area, Jummo, sustained gunshot wound to his leg.
According to him, the troops, who are operating under Operation Tsare Mutane, rescued 18 kidnap victims from the bandits’ enclave.
Mr Yerima added that eight AK-47 rifles and one G3 rifle, as well as one PKT and a Machine Gun were recovered from the bandits.
The Army spokesperson noted that successes recorded followed the launching of the Operation Tsare Mutane to stabilise the area in order to facilitate the return of socio-economic activities.
He recalled that the operation was launched following the directives of the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Ibrahim Attahiru.
“The General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Division, Maj Gen Usman Yusuf launched the first phase of Operation Tsare Mutane which lasted from 23 March to 2 April 2021 in Maradun LGA of Zamfara State,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Army spokesperson disclosed that in continuation with the second phase of Operation Tsare Mutane, troops had sacked several other bandits’ camps around Gabiya, Bozaya and Mereri and the adjoining forests in Maru LGA of Zamfara State from 19 April to 3 May 2021.
He said: “The areas which were heavily infested by bandits were successfully cleared by the highly spirited troops.
“Key bandits’ leaders including Yellow Mai-Bille, Sani Meli, Dan-Katsina and Sama’ila Bakajin Bari were neutralised in the process while the main leader Nasanda narrowly escaped with fatal injuries.
“Equally neutralised in the operation was one Isan Heshi who is a close ally of a notorious bandit called Nagala.
“Isan Heshi was the second in command to Heshi before he joined Nagala following Heshi’s death in an earlier operation.
“Items recovered in the second phase of Operation Tsare Mutane include 4,600 rounds of ammunition, two AK-103 rifles, eight AK-47 magazines, 1,628 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, fifty-four rounds of PKM as well as one motorcycle and five Techno mobile phones.”
