By Ismail Auwal
Security operatives have killed 9 armed cattle rustlers in a combat on Tuesday in Kaduna.
The operatives reportedly laid an ambush after an intelligence report that indicated the bandits were attempting to cross over from the eastern part of the Kaduna-Abuja road to the western part, with a large herd of rustled cattle.
In a statement issued by the Kaduna State Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, said, “An ambush was successfully laid by the troops, as the bandits walked into the killing zone and were welcomed with a hail of bullets.”
Mr Aruwan also noted that after the firefight, the troops also recovered one empty magazine, one set of complete army camouflage, one set of desert boots, seven blankets, two Tecno mobile phones, one caftan outfit, and ropes for tying cattle.
“Further search revealed the corpse of one bandit, 16 dead cows, and three wounded cows,” he added.
Additionally, seven more dead bodies were discovered riddled with bullets at the site.
In a separate activity, troops and police also foiled another attempt by bandits to cross the Kaduna-Abuja highway with rustled cattle around the Greenfield University.
“The troops, guided by some local volunteers who pointed them in the direction of the bandits’ movement, engaged the criminals in a firefight. Sadly one of the local volunteers lost his life,” Aruwan clarified.