A video obtained by SaharaReporters shows a firefight between security agents and bandits, with a bright light, possibly an explosion or fire, brightening up the darkness amid loud gunfire.
A joint security team led by the Nigeria Police Force has dismantled a network of bandits and kidnappers operating in the forests and rugged communities of Kogi State, following a fierce midnight encounter that left several criminals neutralised.
In the operation carried out on Sunday, officers of the Force Intelligence Bureau–Intelligence Response Team (FIB/IRT), supported by sister security agencies, engaged heavily armed attackers who attempted to overrun their position.
A video obtained by SaharaReporters shows a firefight between security agents and bandits, with a bright light, possibly an explosion or fire, brightening up the darkness amid loud gunfire.
The team was led by the Commander of FIB/IRT, Commissioner of Police Muhammad Sanusi Ahmed.
According to security sources, the bandits launched a coordinated night assault on security operatives during a clearance patrol in one of the notorious hideouts in the state.
The police team repelled the attackers after an intense exchange of gunfire, forcing the criminals to retreat into the forest with casualties.
Police sources described the operation led by CP Sanusi as remarkable.
“A formidable police team led by the Commander of the FIB/IRT, Commissioner of Police, Sanusi, led his men to repel the attack and, in the process, neutralised some of the attacking bandits,” a police source said.
CP Sanusi, an indigene of Lokoja Local Government Area of Kogi State, is also a Professor of Criminal Justice at the European-American University.
He previously served as Divisional Crime Officer in Aramoko Ekiti, Divisional Police Officer in Ijero Ekiti, and held operational roles at Zone 8 Police Command and the Inland Waterways Police Command.
CP Sanusi is currently the Commissioner of Police in charge of the DFI-Intelligence Response Team, Abuja.
According to sources, the latest operation signals renewed momentum in efforts to reclaim Kogi forests from criminal gangs that have terrorised travellers and rural communities.
On Monday, SaharaReporters reported that scores of bandits had been killed following coordinated air and ground offensives by the Police Air Wing and the military in forested areas of Kogi State.
It was learnt that the joint operation, backed by precision airstrikes from the Police Air Wing, forced armed groups out of their hideouts, dislodged their networks and neutralised several fighters during intense engagements across the forests.
Footage of the operation obtained by SaharaReporters from a police source shows a bandits’ enclave deep inside the bush engulfed in flames shortly after an airstrike, with thick plumes of smoke rising from the burning camp.
The video also captures a helicopter engaging bandit positions, razing camps and providing aerial support to advancing ground troops.
Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, also shared a video of the offensive, adding, “An ongoing joint operations involving the troops of the Nigeria Army and police have led to the neutralization of scores of bandits and the dismantling of their networks across forested areas of Kogi state.”
Confirming the operation, the Kogi State Police Command, through its spokesperson, CSP William Ovye Aya, said the exercise was conducted with “vigour, commitment, and utmost professionalism.”