Scores of armed bandits in Niger State have been reportedly eliminated by the Air Component of Operation GAMA AIKI (OPGA) operating in the state.
As the Air Force fighter jets were pounding the bandits, it was also gathered that some civilians abducted by the bandits and held hostage in makeshift structures managed to escape.
the Air Force fighter jet killed the bandits during air interdictions raid at bandits’ camps in Kusarsu, a community along Abuja-Kaduna highway.
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According to a military Intelligence Officer who was involved in the operation, credible intelligence had revealed the presence of suspected bandits’ hideout and logistics base at Kusarsu, while the movement of some bandits from Kusarsu towards Kaduna-Abuja Road was also observed, earlier within the week.
The source also claimed that a large number of armed bandits were also gathered at settlements in Gaude and Dutse Magaji.
In the words of the source, “Subsequently, Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft under OPGA were scrambled in the early hours of Friday, 26 November, 2021 to take out the targets.
“Overhead Kusarsu, the NAF combat crew sighted several armed bandits gathered at the locations and subsequently launched a coordinated strike after which the location was seen engulfed in flames.
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“The aftermath of the strike also revealed remnants of surviving bandits fleeing the location.”
The source also said that 50 metres from the target location, several persons suspected to be kidnapped victims were observed escaping out of a makeshift structure and fleeing to nearby civilian settlements.
He also said that similar strikes by Air Force platforms at bandits’ locations in Gaude and Dutse Magaji had the same effects as remnants of the bandits were observed to be scampering from the location.
“Feedback from locals as well as own deployment around Kusarsu revealed that at least 67 corpses of bandits have been counted during assessments of the destroyed logistics bases of the terrorists.”
