BREAKING: Bandits Capture Nigerian Military Base, Kill 12 Officers In Zamfara

According to a report verified by iexclusive News Nigeria on Peoples Gazette, armed bandits have taken a Nigerian military base in Zamfara, marking a huge setback in the state’s campaign to combat violent crime.

According to military sources, the bandits attacked a forward operating base in Mutumji, Dansadau, about 80 kilometers south of the capital Gusau, at about 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Officials confirmed that nine Nigerian Air Force officers, two police officers, and one Nigerian Army soldier were killed.

The level of fire that the soldiers returned to prevent the base from being sacked was not immediately evident.

Officials said that all of the slain servicemen were sent to Yerima Bakura Specialist Hospital in Gusau, while the three wounded were treated at a brigade medical center.

The assailants also took guns from the slain service members and set fire to the facility’s other equipment.

It was unclear how many security personnel were stationed at the base.

The facility has been a vital logistical and reconnaissance hub in the fight against bandits operating between Zamfara’s eastern flank and western Katsina.

Last month, the crooks disabled a Nigerian Air Force jet, forcing the pilot to eject before the plane crashed into the forest, exploding in flames.

The bandits were asking for mercy over the weekend, according to presidential spokesman Femi Adesina, after President Muhammadu Buhari authorized a full-scale military operation across the troublesome North-West.

Telecom signals have already been turned off across Zamfara, according to regulators, who claim the demand came from the military, which wanted to barricade the outlaws in a forest before putting them to death.

On Sunday night, The Gazette sent separate inquiries to the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Air Force for comment on the development.