At least 10 police officers, 17 suspected bandits and two civilians have been killed in clashes between security forces and an armed gang in northwestern Nigeria, police said on Tuesday.
Officers confronted a heavily armed group of around 240 bandits travelling on more than 200 motorcycles in Kebbi State, according to police spokesman Bashir Usman. The clash occurred on Monday as the suspected bandits were moving from neighbouring Zamfara State into Kebbi.
“Tragically, we lost 10 gallant police personnel in the engagement, while two others sustained injuries and are receiving medical attention,” Usman told AFP, adding that two civilians were also killed. He said 17 bandits died in the fighting, though final figures were still being assessed.
Kebbi, like other states in Nigeria’s northwest and central regions, has been plagued by armed criminal gangs carrying out cattle rustling and kidnappings for ransom. Last month, at least 20 people were killed when bandits attacked villages in Zamfara State.
More than half a million people have been displaced by the violence in Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara states, according to a report published in March by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research.
