Troops of Operation Sanity, a unit of the Nigerian Army, have killed four bandits during a clearance operation in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State. This was disclosed on Tuesday by the Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan.
Aruwan reported that the troops engaged the bandits in the Alawa and Kwaga areas of Birnin Gwari, leading to a fierce gunfight in which two of the criminals were neutralized. The soldiers recovered two AK-47 rifles, three magazines, three motorcycles, and one Baofeng radio from the bandits.
In a separate operation, 13 hostages were rescued from a kidnappers’ hideout in Kachia Local Government Area following credible intelligence that the bandits were transporting the victims. The troops launched an assault on the kidnappers, forcing them to abandon the hostages.
Meanwhile, troops from Sector 6 of Operation Whirl Punch, conducting patrols in Nakwakina village, Giwa Local Government Area, also neutralized two bandits. Acting on intelligence, the soldiers laid an ambush along a likely terrorist route, engaging the criminals in a firefight, killing two while others fled with injuries.
Additionally, troops from Sector 3 of Operation Whirl Punch, stationed along Kwaga-Polewire Road in Birnin Gwari, responded to a distress call and intercepted bandits who had kidnapped locals near Polewire village. The bandits fled, abandoning 20 kidnapped victims, who were safely rescued and reunited with their families.
Governor Uba Sani commended the military, particularly the General Officer Commanding the 1st Mechanized Division, Major General Mayirenso Saraso, for their successful operations and rescue missions. He urged the troops to maintain the pressure on bandits and insurgents in Kaduna State and its neighboring regions.
