No fewer than 20 soldiers were reportedly killed by bandits, who stormed two military camps in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State on Tuesday while several others were injured.
However, an unspecified number of the bandits were gunned down by the soldiers during the gun battle that ensued.
But the army said 17 soldiers were killed in the encounter.
Seventeen corpses of the soldiers were, however, said to have been recovered from the bush while the search for the recovery of others continues.
This came as the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Gen. Christopher Musa, at a different event, said the military was set to deploy over 800 well-trained and combat-ready special forces into operational areas to tackle a myriad of security challenges facing the nation.
Vanguard gathered that the bandits numbering over 200 rode on motorcycles and invaded two military camps in Kwanan Duse and Gulbin Boka communities in Mariga council of the state in the morning.
According to a source from the area, the bandits’ first point of call was the military camp at Kwanan Duse, where they engaged the security men in a fierce gun battle, which lasted for about four hours.
It was gathered that the chairman of the Mariga council, Abbas Adamu, immediately alerted the Military Cantonment in Kontagora for reinforcement, while the gun battle at Kwanan Duse was going on.
In a swift response, the soldiers from Kontagora took off but before their arrival at the Kwanan Dutse camp, the bandits had left for Gulbin Boka camp for another onslaught against the soldiers.
