By Charles Pemu BIDA, NIGER STATE – A fierce gun duel in Niger State has reportedly claimed the lives of no fewer than 17 Nigerian soldiers, sparking a grim debate between official narratives of “success” and the stark reality of devastating casualties. While the Nigerian Army asserts it “successfully thwarted” a bandit incursion, local sources and the Mariga Local Government Chairman paint a grimmer picture of a bloody ambush in a notorious criminal hotspot, raising critical questions about the true nature of the confrontation.
The tragic incident reportedly unfolded on Tuesday night around 11 pm in the Bangi community, Mariga Local Government Area. Community sources indicate soldiers had laid an ambush for an estimated 300 armed bandits attempting to infiltrate the area via a known criminal corridor, leading to a fierce exchange of gunfire that lasted for hours.
However, the account from Mariga Local Government Chairman, Abbas Kasuwa Garba, casts a shadow over the official “successful thwarting” claim. Garba disclosed that the attacks actually occurred in two separate locations: Konan Dutse Kaiyan Ghana late Tuesday night, and an earlier engagement at about 5 pm in Gulunbi Boka. He confirmed the recovery of 17 fallen soldiers’ bodies from the forest, now deposited at the Nigerian Army Barracks in Kontagora.
The official statement from the Nigerian Army, released by Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Lieutenant Colonel Appolonia Anele, confirmed the tragic loss of 17 soldiers and 10 injured. Yet, it frames the operation as a “deliberate joint operation” that “successfully thwarted an attempted incursion by terrorists.” The statement describes troops engaging “about 300 armed bandits” who were “planning coordinated attacks” or “looking for a safe haven” from operations in Zamfara.
This stark contrast between a local official’s report of a multi-location ambush resulting in heavy losses, and the Army’s narrative of a “successful thwarting” of a single “attempted incursion,” immediately raises questions. How can an operation that results in 17 fatalities and 10 injuries against an enemy force of 300 be categorically deemed “successful”? Is the official framing a deliberate attempt to manage public perception and downplay a potentially significant setback or an intelligence failure in a region known for rampant criminality?
While search and rescue operations by vigilance groups and security agents continue, and the Nigerian Air Force is commended for aerial support, the conflicting accounts leave a troubling void. The “notorious corridor for criminal activity” suggests ongoing challenges that may be greater than publicly acknowledged, forcing Nigerians to ponder the true cost of battling these well-armed criminal syndicates and whether all facts surrounding these sacrifices are being fully disclosed.