Nigerian soldiers in the northwest killed 80 members of a criminal gang during a gunfight, a UN security report revealed Sunday.
For years, heavily armed cattle-rustling and kidnapping gangs, known locally as “bandits,” have terrorised communities across northwest and central Nigeria.
The latest offensive unfolded Friday through Saturday in Kebbi state’s Ngaski district, where troops engaged a large group of militants in combat.
The report said the soldiers intercepted the bandits as they attempted to infiltrate Kebbi from their base in Zamfara state.
In a military statement Sunday, authorities confirmed troops had subdued bandits attempting coordinated attacks on five local communities after a three-hour battle.
Soldiers seized a cache of weapons, motorcycles, and rescued a kidnapped victim, highlighting both the violence and desperation of rural areas.
Nigeria has deployed troops along Kebbi’s borders with Sokoto, Zamfara, and Niger states to prevent bandits’ cross-border movements, the report added.
Kebbi remains vulnerable as gangs exploit it as a corridor for criminal operations, taking advantage of weak local security structures.
The emergence of the Lakurawa group, linked to militants in the Sahel, has worsened the already fragile security situation in the northwest.
Analysts say Nigeria’s banditry has evolved from herder-farmer clashes into a broader conflict fuelled by arms trafficking and financial opportunism.
Authorities warn that cooperation between criminal gangs and militants threatens regional stability, as the insurgents pursue a 16-year-old campaign in the northeast.
Rural swaths of Nigeria, long neglected by formal state presence, remain hotbeds for violence, kidnappings, and the intersection of crime with extremism.