Bandits kill five soldiers, flee with military vehicles in Kwara

Bandits killed at least five soldiers and wounded several others in a midnight raid on Kemanji village in the Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, community sources said on Monday.

The attack began at about 3:00 a.m. and lasted approximately two hours, with troops and local vigilantes engaging the assailants in a sustained gun battle before the bandits withdrew at dawn.

“Bandits invaded Kemanji this morning at about 3:00 a.m.

“Our security agents, the army and local vigilantes engaged them in an intense gun battle that lasted until 5:00 a.m.,” a community source told our correspondent.

A second source said residents initially sheltered indoors as gunfire rang out through the night.

“When dawn broke, we discovered that over five soldiers were killed and several others were injured in the attack.

“The bandits left with the army men’s vehicles and motorcycles,” the source said.

The attack is the latest in a string of armed incursions targeting communities and security personnel in Nigeria’s north-central region, raising fresh concerns about the southward spread of banditry beyond its traditional strongholds in the northwest.

(People’s Gazette)