Troops of ‘Operation MESA’ under the 3 Brigade, Nigerian Army, have rescued seven kidnapped victims following a late-night bandit attack on Yankamaye Cikin Gari in Tsanyawa Local Government Area of Kano State, where a 60-year-old woman was killed.
The attack, occurred around 11:00pm on Saturday, as bandits stormed the village, while residents were asleep.
According to a source in the area, the assailants also abducted three women during the raid.
A statement issued on Sunday by Captain Babatunde Zubairu, Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, said troops, acting on a distress call, swiftly mobilised to the area and made contact with the bandits.
According to him, the soldiers, supported by the Nigerian Air Force and the police, pursued the attackers along the Rimaye axis and engaged them with heavy fire.
Zubairu confirmed that seven victims were rescued during the operation, even as four persons remain unaccounted for.
He added that the fleeing bandits escaped toward Kankia Local Government Area in neighbouring Katsina State, with troops currently tracking their movement.
The commander, 3 Brigade, commended the troops for their prompt response and gallantry, urging residents to continue providing credible information to aid ongoing security operations.
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The latest incident comes days after bandits launched a similar attack in Biresawa Village, also in Tsanyawa.
Reacting to the recurring assaults, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, condemned the killings and kidnappings, insisting that security agencies must intensify efforts to take the fight to the criminals.
Barau, who represents Kano North Senatorial District, described the attacks as incursions by bandits fleeing military operations in neighbouring states.
He urged security agencies to double their efforts to end what he called a coordinated pattern of cross-border terrorism.
“We will not allow marauding criminals to destabilise our communities. This incursion must stop forthwith. The security of our people’s lives and property is paramount,” he said.
