In what could be described as a major breakthrough in the war against bandits and other terrorist groups in Niger State, a Joint Security Taskforce (JST) led by the military on Sunday reportedly rounded up and killed well over 200 terrorists in Babanna, a border town between Nigeria and the Benin Republic in Borgu Local Government Area of the state.

The development sparked widespread jubilation among residents of the entire Borgu Kingdom, who had remained under siege from terrorist activities over the past year.

The successful operation began on Tuesday last week when troops of the 22 Armoured Brigade, deployed at the Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Babanna, launched a coordinated offensive against the terrorists.

The climax of the five-day military operation, codenamed “Operation Savanna Shield”, came on Sunday, May 31, when the troops dealt a heavy blow to the terrorists, killing more than 200 of them, according to local sources.

Several arms and ammunition were recovered by the troops, including more than 300 motorcycles allegedly belonging to the terrorists.

It was gathered that the commander of the vigilante group from Babanna, popularly referred to as Bature OC, was killed during the operation, while there were reportedly no casualties on the side of the military.

A source close to Babanna further told Daily Sun that the operation, which was carried out in collaboration with security agents from the Benin Republic and local vigilantes in Nigeria, covered the Dekara Road axis through Gidan Zana and Rafin Korama within the Kainji Lake National Park forest.

According to him, “The operation is still ongoing as I speak with you, and security agents have continued to sustain pressure on these criminal elements within the areas that I mentioned.”

Since Sunday, it has been a moment of celebration among residents of Babanna, as men and women trooped out in large numbers to express their appreciation and cheer Nigerian soldiers, local vigilantes and Benin Republic security forces for the success of the joint operation.

A resident of the area, Alhaji Mohammed Usman, who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone, described the killing of the terrorists as a major relief for the people whose way of life had been severely disrupted by the activities of the criminal groups.

“For the past year now, we cannot go to the farm; we can’t access our market, and nobody travels free in this entire area for fear of being abducted or even killed. They have made life very miserable for our people,” he lamented.

It could be recalled that, worried by the relentless attacks by bandits and other terrorist groups, communities in Borgu Kingdom had earlier this year appealed to the federal government to urgently deploy additional security personnel to troubled communities in Agwara and Borgu local government areas of the state.

They specifically urged the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, establish a military base in the area to curtail the activities of the gunmen, saying the security situation had become both worrisome and frightening.

Community leaders in the affected areas said the entire Borgu Kingdom, comprising Borgu and Agwara local government areas, had been under siege from bandits and other criminal elements who had made life unbearable for residents since the beginning of the year.

Speaking on behalf of the communities, Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Niger State chapter, and Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese, Most Rev. Dr Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, pointed out that the plight of the affected communities was better imagined than experienced, as many residents now lived like refugees in their own communities.

Rev. Yohanna described the security situation as dire, highlighting repeated attacks on residents, schools and police facilities. He added that many children could no longer attend school, farmers had been forced to abandon their farms, and several markets had been shut down.

According to him, “The people of Agwara deserve to live without fear; our children deserve a secure future, our people need to farm their lands and sleep peacefully in their homes, but all these are no more,” he said.

Although the criminals had been operating and terrorising the area for a long time, the situation escalated following the abduction of students of Papiri Missionary School in Agwara in November last year. Since then, the entire Borgu Kingdom has struggled to regain its peace. (The Sun, excluding headline)