SOKOTO / BIRNIN KEBBI — Security forces, including troops of the Nigerian Army and operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, have engaged a large formation of bandits estimated at roughly 240 fighters after the group crossed boundary lines from Zamfara State toward communities in Kebbi State.
Security intelligence reports indicate that the bandit group moved out of the Sangeko Gap—a notorious forested corridor along the Zamfara border—and advanced toward the Makuku axis in Sakaba Local Government Area of Kebbi State.
The bandits, traveling in three tactical formations mounted on dozens of motorcycles, were intercepted by joint security teams following early warning signals from rural surveillance networks.
The rapid movement of the armed group triggered widespread panic across nearby farming settlements, prompting hundreds of residents in border communities to commence precautionary evacuations to safer urban centers in Sakaba and Zuru LGAs to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
A primary concern raised by local vigilante groups and intelligence officers is the active involvement of local informants, who are reportedly transmitting real-time operational details regarding military movements and troop deployments directly to the bandit commanders.
Tactical reinforcement units have been deployed along the Sangeko-Makuku corridor to cut off retreat routes back into the Zamfara forests, as joint ground forces supported by air assets attempt to flush out the armed group and secure rural communities across the Kebbi-Zamfara frontier.
