Troops gun down 4 cattle rustlers, arrest 3 kidnappers in Zamfara, Kaduna

Troops gun down 4 cattle rustlers, arrest 3 kidnappers in Zamfara, Kaduna

Abdulkareem Haruna

Troops of the Nigeria army had Wednesday carried out a raid of armed bandits and kidnappers hideout in Zamfara and Kaduna states during which four cattle rustlers were killed, an official statement said.

The troops who are deployed under the 'Operation Sharan Daji' a special military campaign aimed at dislodging all camps and hide outs of armed criminals, had also arrested three suspected kidnappers at some bush locations in Kaduna State.

Spokesman of the Nigeria Army, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, made this known in a terse statemented issued electronically to media houses.

Colonel Usman, an acting director army public relations, said the operations were carried out by "troops of 1 Division Nigerian Army deployed on Operation SHARAN DAJI".

He said the operation that was carried out on Wednesday 18th October 2016, was a "raid on livestock rustlers and armed bandits' camp at Barikin Daji forest near Masafa village in Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State"

"During the operation, the troops killed 4 bandits, recovered a motorcycle and destroyed all the camps at the forest", he said.

"Similarly troops of the same formation, in conjunction with local vigilante also carried out similar operation at the notorious livestock, armed bandits and kidnappers' hideout in Anchau forest, Kubau Local Government Area, Kaduna State same day".

"During the operation, 3 kidnappers, Umaru Buje, Sanusi Shuaibu and Samaila Ibrahim were arrested by the troops.

"The arrested persons are currently being interrogated", Colonel Usman said.

In the past one year, kidnapping and cattle rustling have become another major security threat, aside Boko Haram insurgency which the Nigeria Army has been tackling.

Nearly a hundred kidnappers and cattle rustlers were either killed in shootouts or arrested by soldiers. And over a thousand cows rustled from herdsmen were recovered.

Fulani herdsmen, who are recently being accused of attacking communities using assault rifles have complained that some of them resort to using guns like AK47  to defend themselves because cattle rustlers use similar weapons to attack them when they come to take away their livestock.