No fewer than about 20 gunmen suspected to be armed bandits were killed last Tuesday by local hunters in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.

The local hunters were also said to have recovered much livestock allegedly rustled by the ill-fated bandits.

The incident was said to have come on the heels of the restoration of armed security operatives to Bassa, Gurmana and Kukoki neighbourhoods of the local government area.

A statement by the concerned Shiroro Youths made available to newsmen yesterday in Minna, the state capital confirmed the incidence.

The statement issued and made available to newsmen on Saturday, jointly by Abubakar Yussuf Kokki and Bello Ibrahim Co-Conveners of the Concerned Shiroro Youths declared that “the group commends the uncommon bravado and gallantry exhibited by the combined team of local Hunters and local Vigilante groups during a head-on confrontation with the hoodlums at around Gurmana forest on Tuesday night which resulted in many casualties including death on the part of the criminals.

The statement added that “the armed bandits had successfully rustled herds of cattle around Gurmana axis of Shiroro local government but luck ran out of them and thereafter they met their nemesis resulting in scores of the criminals being neutralized during the fierce gun duel as they fell to the superior firepower of the local hunters.”

The statement stated further that “luckily, herds of rustled cattle were forcefully confiscated from the deadly hoodlums.”

Kokki and Bello also in the statement said they have received with extreme joy the news of the deployment of well equipped Joint Security Task Force to insecurity prone areas of the local government area.

“With this welcome development, we are enthusiastically confident that our people who are peaceful and law-abiding citizens but unfortunately have come under constant and sustained multiple deadly attacks by heartless, venomous, murderous and hydra-headed terrorists will now have a reprieve from the regular vicious attacks by the Marauders.”

“We fervently hope and pray for the sustained operation to be carried out by the Joint Chiefs of Staff Security Task Force stationed in the affected areas,” the duo said the statement.

They thereby prayed that the area will continue to witness “similar unprecedented breakthrough in the fight against terrorism and insurgency.”

TodayNG