May 03, (THEWILL) – Some local hunters employed by the Shiroro Local Government Council in Niger state, to compliment the efforts of the security agents in the area in the ongoing war against banditry, have been arrested for allegedly stealing some cows which were recovered from Bandits.
They were arrested following the discovery that some of the cows that were recovered from bandits during an operation in Galape community in Shiroro local government were missing from where they were being kept.
According to a security source close to the area, the local hunters, who were employed by the Council to compliment the efforts of special hunters operating in the area, have successfully stolen the cows and had actually sold them in a local market in the area before they were apprehended.
The source said, a woman spiritualist, who was invited by the Council Chairman to come and help in a spiritual war against the bandits, had captured four Fulani herdsmen suspected to be bandits and recovered unspecified numbers of cows which were stolen by them.
The cows, it was further gathered, were brought to Galkogo village, the camp of the hunters for safe keeping as instructed by the woman spiritualist when the local hunters decided to help themselves with some.
The woman spiritualist was said to have instructed that those cows be kept under close watch till after the sallah break when she will start a full scale war against the bandits in the area as she intended to use those cows as point of contact and locate the hideout of the bandits.
The source, said the woman spiritualist had carried out a number of spiritual war against the bandits in parts of the state, leading to the killings of scores of these bandits. The latest being the killing of bandits in Nupe kingdom of Niger state.
All attempts to reach the Chairman of Shiroro local government, Mallam Suleiman Chukuba, to confirm the report, could not yield any result as all his mobile phones were switched off.
Meanwhile, the state Commissioner for local government and internal security, Emmanuel Umar, has confirmed the killings of no fewer than 10 bandits in Uregi village in Rafi local government area of the state on Monday.
Seven motorcycles belonging to the bandits, including arms were also recovered from the bandits.
The Commissioner in a statement in Minna, said 14 Kidnapped victims were rescued during the operation by the Joint Security TaskForce in the area.
According to the statement, bandits had wanted to disrupt the peaceful Eid-el-fitr celebration, when they launched an onslaught on Kawo and Uregi villages.
“On 02/05/2022, at about 1700hrs, armed bandits on motorcycles attempted to attack Kawo, Uregi villages in Rafi LGA to disrupt Sallah celebration in the State, On the receipt of this information, joint security tactical teams responded swiftly and mobilised to the area where the hoodlums were engaged around Uregi, Kiribo villages and as a result, about ten bandits were neutralised, 14 kidnapped citizens were rescued and seven motorcycles recovered, including arms from them”, the statement read.
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