From John Adams, Minna
With barely 24 hours after armed bandits launched an attack on a military camp in Zagzaga Community in Munya, Niger State, the Nigerian Army has shut down its camp, evacuating all troops from the community.
The Army has also launched a search operation for a missing soldier after the attack, with the support of youths in the community.
Although the mobile phone of the missing soldier reportedly keeps ringing since yesterday when the incident occurred, he is not responding to calls, fueling speculation that he could have either being killed or abducted by the bandits and his phone seized from him.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, about 60 heavily armed bandits invaded a military camp in Zazzaga community in Munya and engaged the soldiers in a gun battle, leading to a heavy casualties on the side of the bandits.
None of the soldiers were injured in the attack, except for the missing RSM.
The military base in Allawa and Basa in Shiroro was attacked three weeks ago when bandits in their large numbers invaded a security joint task force, killing five soldiers and a mobile policeman.
A source close to the community told Daily Sun that a few hours after the soldiers moved out of the community in what the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Ibrahim Matene, said was a ‘tactical withdrawal’, the bandits launched coordinated attacks on some communities in the area.
About 15 people were said to have been abducted from these communities in the midnight attacks, leaving the areas now completely deserted as the people have relocated to neighboring villages.
Communities that came under attacks last night are Zagzaga, Zhani, Guni and Maraban Daudu. The villagers have all relocated from these communities, leaving only the youths and some men behind.
According to our source, the 15 people were abducted from Boddo village in the early hours of Thursday during the invasion.
When contacted on the latest incident, the Secretary to the State Government told our correspondent that the military camp is being closed temporarily for tactical reason, stressing that the military has been stationed in the community for the past five years due to the notorious nature of the area.
He disclosed that Zagzaga community and other surrounding villages have remained entry and exit routes for the bandits before the soldiers were brought and stationed there, adding that the people have enjoyed peace for the five years that the military were stationed there.
