Bandits Take Over Nigerian Huge Army Land In Niger, Use It As Kidnappers Den, Rusted Cattle Ranch
LAGOS MAY 19TH (NEWSRANGERS)-A vast plot of land belonging to the Nigerian Army (NA) in Kontagora local government of Niger State is harbouring armed bandits terrorizing several parts of the State, PRNigeria has gathered.
Concerned about the development, the Nigerian Army under the current leadership is devising new measures to tackle the activities of the criminals on its land and in neighbouring communities.
The bandits have established their camps at Matan Kari, Fagai, Ozowo, Bihima and Kan Libo, among other mountains inside the army land. The camps, according to checks by PRNigeria, are mountainous areas, within the massive hectare, where the criminals first gather their abducted victims, before moving them to Kaduna, Zamfara and other Northern States, via forests’ paths. They are also being used by bandits operating within the axis to congregate herds of rustled cattle, before ferrying them beyond the State’s borders.
The ‘flat and leveled surfaces’ on top of the mountains, according to an undercover security officer and some locals, is where a yet-to-be-identified private helicopter often ‘touches down’. They, however, could not tell who owns the helicopter, and the mission it regularly undertakes to the bandits’ hideouts. He also told PRNigeria that whenever the white helicopter hovers around communities within Kontagora and Mariga axis, bandits’ attack follows.
It was
learnt that a team of policemen and local vigilantes embarked on daring
missions to the notorious camps of the bandits, on three separate occasions
last year. Images of some items discovered on the mountainous hideouts, which
include syringes, cans of soft drinks, spare parts of motor cycles, plugs,
among other relics, were sighted by PRNigeria. The huge army land, which starts
from the military Barrack in Kontagora town, extends over to Mai Guge
community, in Mariga local government. It is almost 40km in length.
Credible sources said not only banditry, and kidnapping, but illegal mining
secretly thrives on the land, too. Aside the Barrack, the Nigerian Army Corps
of Artillery (NACA) and the Nigerian Army Training Centre (NATRAC) are the two
other military institutions located in Kongatora LG. Though the expansive army
land is yet to be fenced, a deep pit apparently for a foundation has been dug,
right after the Barrack gate, before entering Kontagora metropolis. The
foundation pit, covering over forty kilometres, extends to Mai Gegu.
The army, at various points beside the Kontagora-Mariga road, mounted the
signage of their land, indicating ownership. It warned trespassers to keep off.
The inscription on the signage reads: “Nigerian Army Training Area Kontagora Army
Land Keep Off/Ba Shiga”.
PRNigeria learnt that the Kambaris, were the original owners of the land. But
they sold it to the army, over 30 years ago. And while the Army is yet to start
training its personnel, bandits have found ‘haven’ in the fallow land, using it
to carry out their terror-inducing crime. There are several instances, where
bandits emerge from various points in the army land, some of the displaced
villagers told PRNigeria. They then, cross the kontagora-Mariga road to attack
Usande, Magauta, Dutsen Magaji, and other sparse communities, on the other side
of the highway.
A seasoned intelligence officer working for a security agency in Kontagora, who
declined to give his name, said the ‘unfenced and porous’ army land is the
reason bandits have been having a field day invading communities and wreaking
havoc, across parts of Niger East. He said the bandits’ camps also served as
escape routes for the criminals when other security personnel are mobilized for
counter and rescue operations. He said when bandits attack communities
surrounding Kontagora town, they fled with their victims and rustled cattle to
their camps inside the army land. “Unfortunately, the army will deny us
permission to chase the fleeing criminals. We have, on several occasions,
informed the military authorities that their domain is used by bandits for
cover, but they refused to cooperate with us, often telling us that the people
our intelligence reports indicate are bandits, are actually not,” he added.
PRNigeria
Short URL: https://newsrangers.com/?p=70205
Posted by News Rangers
on May 19 2021. Filed under National.
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