Niger Boils As Militias Kill One Major, 10 Soldiers, And Scores Of Civilians

• 30 Bandits killed, Several Injured

• Military Helicopter Shutdown

From John Adams, Minn

A major and no fewer than 10 Soldiers and an unspecified number of local vigilantes have been killed by gunmen in Zungeru in Wushshi Local Government Area in Niger state.

Eight other soldiers were seriously injured during the gunfight on Sunday with the bandits.

The Bandits were said to be numbering about 70 and fully armed with sophisticated weapons.

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The soldiers were also said to have fought the gunmen to a standstill, eliminating over 30 of them, while several others sustained gunshots injuries and are currently hiding in the bush as the soldiers were said to have reinforced to lunch another offensive against them.

The soldiers, it was gathered were ambushed by the bandits while on their way to respond to a distress call from Akare community where the bandits had gone to rustle cattle.

The soldiers, it was further gathered were given wrong information as to the movement of the bandits, hence they ran into ambush by the bandits.

According to a source close to the community, about 30 of bandits were killed in the encounter with their bodies left in the forest while those that were injured were ferried away by members of their gang to the bush.

According to our source, the bandits were completely looking different with their physic and long hairs from the ones that usually terrorized the people of the area, fueling suspicious that they maybe machineries hired to carry out the attack.

It was gathered that the bodies of the slain soldiers were deposited at the Federal Medical Centre Zingeru before they were evacuated on Monday morning to unknown destination.

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As a result of the incident civilians in Akere, Wushishi and neighboring communities have abandoned their homes and are now taking refuge in Zingeru town.

All efforts to get confirmation of the story w abortive as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Internal Security Alhaj Tareek Abdulrahim did not pick several calls put to him.

An officer at the 31 Artillery Brigade in Minna directed to the Director of Communication of the Nigeria Army saying

“We are not allowed to speak to the press, please contact Abuja”

Meanwhile palpable fear has gripped the people of Wushishi, Zungru and neighboring communities following heavy deployment of security to the area to fish out the criminals, responsible for the attacks as they were said to be stranded in the bush with their rustle cattle and their injured colleagues.

However in another development, a group of bandits has shutdown a military helicopter in kukoki community, in shiroro local government area of the state.

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Although details of the incident was still sketchy as at the time of filing this report, the helicopter was brought down on Monday after on its way to the scene of the gun dwell between the soldiers and the bandits in Wusihshi.

(Daily Sun, excluding headline)