By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu, Lokoja
The Nigerian Army says its troops have killed a notorious bandit commander, Kachalla Bala, and five of his gang members in a major operation across several Kogi communities.
The Acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations, 12 Brigade Lokoja, Lt. Hassan Abdullahi, confirmed this in a statement on Sunday.
According to him, the ongoing anti-banditry operation, code-named “Egwa A Tite” and launched on September 1, has recorded significant breakthroughs.
The operation covered Tunga, Aleke, Ungwan Soni, and Ungwan Nyaba communities, as well as Ankomi and Agbede–Adankoo Bridge (Mosalanci Boka) in Lokoja, Kabba-Bunu, and Yagba local government areas, which share borders with Kwara and Niger states.
Lt. Abdullahi said the operation, led by the Commander of 12 Brigade and Force Commander Operation Accord III, Brigadier General Kasim Umar Sidi, destroyed several bandit hideouts and boosted troops’ morale.
He explained that on September 2, troops backed by air support from the 405 Helicopter Combat Training Group engaged fleeing bandits in Ankomi, killing several of them.
“On September 5, during a fierce gun battle at a hideout near Tunga, intelligence confirmed that Kachalla Bala, a notorious bandit commander, and five others were neutralized,” the statement said.
On the same day, troops mounted an ambush along a suspected bandits’ supply route at Agbede–Adankoo Bridge, where they killed a logistics courier.
During clearance operations in Aleke, Ungwan Soni, and Ungwan Nyaba, the army rescued a father, Mr. Pabo Suleiman, and his two children from captivity.
Items recovered from the bandits included a motorcycle, two mobile phones, and one AK-47 magazine loaded with 20 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.