The men of Operation Puff Adder deployed in Niger State have identified five bandits’ camps in the state.
The operatives were said to have attacked one of the camps, killing scores of the hoodlums and arresting five suspected informants who were commercial motorcyclists.
A security source told The PUNCH on Thursday, that investigations revealed that the riders had a special code with which they identified themselves, adding that the code was painted on their motorcycles.
It was learnt that shortly after attacking a Joint Task Force camp in Kotangora where seven soldiers were killed and their arms taken away, the hoodlums also attacked a second security camp but the casualty figure could not be confirmed
The bandits were also said to have attacked a village where they killed residents and spared a child who was taken away by security operatives after the incident.
It was gathered that the security operatives from Abuja had resolved not to hand over arrested bandits to the state police authorities following the release of three suspected bandits handed over to the police for investigation and prosecution.
A source stated, “We have arrested five informants who are okada riders. The suspects use special code on their motorcycles as a means of identification.
“We have killed scores of bandits; we have also increased patrol and are on the lookout for some of them who are on the run following the sustained attacks on their camp. Some of them were arrested on the road and we found that they are not Nigerians as they cannot speak English. They are mostly foreigners and cannot speak any local language. Some of them don’t even speak Fulfude.”
Attempts to get the reaction of the Army spokesman, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Yerima, on the killing of soldiers was unsuccessful as he did not respond to an SMS seeking an update on the incident.
