Niger community celebrates as military eliminates 200 terrorists • Over 300 motorcycles recovered
By Trek Africa Newspaper
In what could be described as a major breakthrough in the war against bandits and other terrorist groups in Niger State, a Joint Security Taskforce (JST) led by the military on Sunday reportedly rounded up and killed well over 200 terrorists in Babanna, a border town between Nigeria and the Benin Republic in Borgu Local Government Area of the state.
The development sparked widespread jubilation among residents of the entire Borgu Kingdom, who had remained under siege from terrorist activities over the past year.
The successful operation began on Tuesday last week when troops of the 22 Armoured Brigade, deployed at the Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Babanna, launched a coordinated offensive against the terrorists.
The climax of the five-day military operation, codenamed “Operation Savanna Shield”, came on Sunday, May 31, when the troops dealt a heavy blow to the terrorists, killing more than 200 of them, according to local sources.
Several arms and ammunition were recovered by the troops, including more than 300 motorcycles allegedly belonging to the terrorists.
It was gathered that the commander of the vigilante group from Babanna, popularly referred to as Bature OC, was killed during the operation, while there were reportedly no casualties on the side of the military.
A source close to Babanna further told Daily Sun that the operation, which was carried out in collaboration with security agents from the Benin Republic and local vigilantes in Nigeria, covered the Dekara Road axis through Gidan Zana and Rafin Korama within the Kainji Lake National Park forest.
According to him, “The operation is still ongoing as I speak with you, and security agents have continued to sustain pressure on these criminal elements within the areas that I mentioned.”
Since Sunday, it has been a moment of celebration among residents of Babanna, as men and women trooped out in large numbers to express their appreciation and cheer Nigerian soldiers, local vigilantes and Benin Republic security forces for the success of the joint operation.
A resident of the area, Alhaji Mohammed Usman, who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone, described the killing of the terrorists as a major relief for the people whose way of life had been severely disrupted by the activities of the criminal groups.
“For the past year now, we cannot go to the farm; we can’t access our market, and nobody travels free in this entire area for fear of being abducted or even killed. They have made life very miserable for our people,” he lamented.
