Four killed as bandits, soldiers battle in Benue

Four bandits have been killed by Soldiers of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) during an exchange of gunfire in the Kastina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State.

The soldiers, in a separate operation on Sunday rescued two kidnap victims – a man, Jude Orune and his pregnant wife – from the den of their abductors in a remote forest in Sengev council ward of Guma LGA of the state.

Local dwellers said that the couple were kidnapped at 5:30 pm on Sunday but that the prompt distress call to the troops closest to the area led to their quick rescue.

According to Daily Trust, a local said that the soldiers pursued after the bandits who in turn engaged the troops in a gun battle but were eventually overwhelmed by the superior firepower of the troops such that they fled leaving behind their victims.

In the same vein, villagers said that the soldiers stationed in Gbise in Katsina-Ala had during a patrol in the area encountered and killed three bandits at the Hundu-Ado community in Mbatyula council ward.

The soldiers were also said to have neutralised the fourth bandit during a joint patrol in Waya,Yaaz, and Turan in Kwande LGA of Benue in collaboration with their counterparts of Taraba state around Kashimbila in Takum LGA, a border town between the two states.

The aforementioned publication reported that a military source who declined his name in print, said it was true that the incidents happened, adding that the troops encountered armed bandits and herdsmen at a makeshift camp in the affected areas but were able to contain them.
The source further disclosed that the soldiers captured alive one 15-year-old, Yusuf Koriya, whom they have already handed over to the police.

Meanwhile, the OPWS Public Relations Officer (PRO), Flying Officer, Audu Katty, is yet to officially respond to the incidents as at the time of filing this report.