MINNA — Security operatives in Niger State have recovered the bodies of nine travellers along the Wawa-Lumma road in Borgu Local Government Area, in an attack suspected to have been executed by armed bandits operating along the border corridors.
The spokesperson for the Niger State Police Command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the tragic recovery on Wednesday in Minna, disclosing that a joint tactical unit comprising police and military personnel was dispatched to the scene on Tuesday following distress reports from local residents.
“Police and military tactical teams were mobilised to the scene; the bodies were recovered, while clearance operations were intensified to secure the area,” Abiodun stated, adding that security agencies have launched an aggressive search-and-flush operation to track down the perpetrators.
The gruesome discovery comes just days after a massive, intelligence-led joint operation involving the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, the Nigerian Armed Forces, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Nigeria Police Force successfully rescued 308 abducted hostages from the Kainji Lake National Park forest in New Bussa Local Government Area.
The 308 rescued captives included 163 individuals abducted from the Woro community in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, alongside 145 victims kidnapped during separate bandit incursions across Niger State.
While security forces continue clearance sweeps across the Kainji forest reserve and surrounding highway corridors, police authorities have urged commercial drivers and commuters traveling through Borgu and Kaiama transit routes to remain vigilant and report suspicious movements to nearby security posts.
