Bandits flee as police, vigilante rescue 11 kidnap victims in Niger

Police tactical operatives, in collaboration with local vigilantes, have rescued 11 kidnap victims after a gun battle with suspected bandits in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State.

The development was disclosed in a report by Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency and security analyst covering the Lake Chad region.

According to the report, the operation was launched at about 9:00pm, on July 11 after security operatives received intelligence that suspected armed bandits were moving through the area with abducted victims and rustled cattle.

Makama reported that the joint security team intercepted the suspects near Mangoro Village in Mariga Local Government Area, where a gun battle ensued.

“The security team intercepted the bandits near Mangoro Village in Mariga LGA, where they engaged the criminals in a fierce exchange of gunfire,” the report stated.

The report added that the suspected bandits fled into the surrounding bush after the gun battle, abandoning the kidnapped victims, who were rescued unharmed.

The rescued victims were identified as Alhaji Sale, Muhammadu, Abubakar Ibrahim, Naziru Hamza, Ali Ibrahim, Abubakar Mohd, Ibrahim Abubakar, Dan Asabe Garba, Yunusa Musa, Musa Peter and Bilyaminu Ibrahim, all residents of Beri, Dogon-Fadama and Kagara communities.

Makama further reported that the victims have since been reunited with their families.

He added that security operatives have continued monitoring and combing operations across the area in an effort to apprehend the fleeing suspects and recover the rustled cattle.