Nigerian Army shuts military camp to ‘save soldiers from bandits’

The Nigerian Army has shut down its camp and evacuated its soldiers from Zagzaga community in Munya local government area of Niger state.

State government secretary Ibrahim Matene described the move as a “tactical withdrawal.”

The development, which some say was designed to protect Nigerian soldiers from bandits, came less than 24 hours after the criminals attacked a military camp in the area.

Following the attack, the army, with the help of local youths, launched a search for a missing soldier.

Around 60 bandits had stormed a military camp in the community on Wednesday morning, engaging soldiers in a gunfight, with some of the bandits reportedly seriously wounded.

Except for the camp’s missing RSM, none of the soldiers were hurt in the attack.

The bandits, a source said, launched organized attacks on some communities in the region just hours after the soldiers left the community.

In the midnight attacks, about 15 people were reportedly abducted from these towns, leaving the areas largely abandoned as residents fled to neighboring villages.

Zagzaga, Zhani, Guni, and Maraban Daudu were among the communities targeted last night.

The military had been stationed in the community for the past five years due to the volatile nature of security in the region.