Barely 36 hours after Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umar Bago, appealed to military authority to deploy troops to communities prone to terrorists and bandits’ attacks to help tackle the upsurge of their nefarious activities in the state, the hierarchy of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), on Sunday said terrorists are already fleeing the state to another safe haven in Kaduna State.
The NAF also disclosed that recent intelligence revealed that most of the terrorists responsible for recent attacks on civilians, abductions, and cattle rustling within Shiroro Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State were now domicile in Kaduna State.
A statement by Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet, said: “In response to the recent upsurge of terrorists’ activities targeting innocent civilians in Niger State, the Air Component of Operation Whirl Punch has continued in its efforts to track, locate and eliminate the terrorists responsible. Intelligence gathered had revealed that most of the terrorists responsible for recent attacks on civilians, abductions and cattle rustling within Shiroro Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State were domicile in Kaduna State”.
Gabkwet said that additional intelligence further revealed the sightings of these terrorists as they relocated from Alawa Forest in Niger State after their nefarious acts to their stronghold in Malum Forest in Igabi LGA of Kaduna State.
He said the Air component planned and executed an Air Interdiction mission on 21 Aug 24 on the terrorists’ stronghold at Malum Forest.
“Battle damage assessment and feedback from local sources revealed several of the terrorists were eliminated as a result of the strike. Similar strikes were also conducted on terrorists’ hideouts at Bayan Ruwa in Maradun LGA of Zamfara State. The terrorists were tracked to zincked-roofed structures in a vegetated area with few footpaths and a river line Northwest of the location. The targets were then acquired and engaged in successive passes,” he said.
He also noted patrols conducted by the air component of Operation Delta Safe over Ohaji/Egbema in Imo State and Degema and Cawthorne Channel in Rivers State revealed several Illegal Refining Sites and overhead tanks which were effectively destroyed.
According to him, “In all, over 25 illegal sites were destroyed. In Greenville, Rivers State, a leaking pipeline was observed with the leakage spreading across over 150 metres radius with its attendant negative consequences on the vegetation, aquatic habitats and farmlands.
Recall that the acting Governor of Niger State, Mr. Yakubu Garba had on Saturday appealed to the Nigeria Army to redeploy its troops to communities prone to terrorists attacks in the state.
Speaking with journalists after the 3-day Fidda’u prayer for 13 people killed by bandits in Shiroro LGA of the state, Garba said that the withdrawal of troops from Allawa and other communities had weakened the government’s efforts to tackle insecurity in the state.The 13 victims lost their lives last week when they were ambushed by bandits on their way to their farms in Anguwan village.“I want to appeal to our military to see reasons to go back to Allawa and other prone areas to give full security cover to our people who are predominantly farmers,” Garba said.
Linus Aleke
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