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From John Adams, Minna
The Nigerian Soldiers in the early hours of Monday, successfully repelled bandits attack on their camp in Sarkin Pawa, the headquarters of Munya local government areas of Niger state, killing scores of the bandits while several others escaped with bullets injuries.
The bandits, it was gathered invaded the soldiers camp at Sarkin Pawa at about 2:00am in their large numbers and met a well prepared soldiers who engage them in a fierce gun battle which the villagers said lasted over two hours.
The lasted attack on the Military camp is coming barely three week after gunmen in a similar manner invaded a mining site at Agata Aboki, Erena In Shiroro local government area, killing 34 soldiers and eight mobile policemen.
Unlike the attack at Ajata Aboki where the soldiers suffered heavy casualties, there was no casualty on side of the soldiers in the Sarkin Pawa attack, but unspecified number of the bandits were successfully neutralized by the soldiers.
As at the time of filing this reports, it was gathered that four bodies of the bandits were recovered from the bush as their fleeing colleagues abandoned their bodies in the bush.
A source close to the community told our correspondent that the successes recorded by the soldiers was however not without an intelligent reports which revealed the movement of the bandits to the soldiers, adding that “the bandits were ambushed by the soldiers because they got information that the bandits were coming.
“The bandits were more than hundred that came. They parked their motorcycles in a distance and then came on foot through the bush to attack the soldiers but the soldiers had already taken position, waiting for them.
“Because of their (bandits) number, the soldiers had to call for reinforcements from Minna and they arrived in less than 40 minutes and that was why they neutralized a number of the bandits”, our source added.
Although the state government is yet to issue a statement on the latest attack, the spokesperson of Coalition of Shiroro Association, Salis M Sabo Esq while confirming that attack, said the terrorists came in their hundreds trying to dislodge the military base, adding that “The military engaged them in a gun duel which lasted for about 2 hours until the military called for reinforcement and successfully neutralized them.”
According to him, “it took the military less than 30 minutes to arrive Sarkin Pawa from Minna in response to the distress call for reinforcement. The energy and passion our security men displayed against terrorists was unprecedented and has restored hope in the mind of the people”, he said.
This is the fourth of such attacks the gunmen, targeting military camps on the state, having carried out similar attack in Allawa and Bassa in Shiroro local government in April 2021, leaving five soldiers and a Policeman killed.
Also the gunmen carried out an attack on military camps in Zagzaga community in Munya local government area, killing the RSM and injured another.
