No fewer than 60 bandits invaded the a military camp in the early hours of Wednesday in Zagzaga community in the Munya Local Government Area of Niger State and engaged the soldiers in a gun battle, leading to heavy casualties on the side of the bandits.

The latest attack on a military base in the state came barely three weeks after bandits attacked a Security Joint Task Force base in Allawa and Basa in the Shiroro Local Government Area of the state, killing five soldiers and a policeman.

According to a reliable source close to Zagzaga community, the bandits stormed the community at about 4am and split into three groups.

While one group made their way to the military camp located at a Junior Secondary School about 500 meters from the town, where they engaged the soldiers in a gun duel, the second group laid ambush on the major road leading to the community.

The third group was said to have made its way to the community to prevent any reinforcements from the community vigilantes and the youths.

Our source said after two hours of gun exchange from 4am to 6am, the soldiers ran out of ammunition and made a retreat after they (soldiers) had inflicted injuries on some of the bandits.

The bandits, however, stormed the camp after the soldiers’ retreat, set the military vehicles on fire and went away with another. The bandits also burnt the food store in the camp.

“I think the bandits might have used the military vehicle to evacuate the injured ones and possibly some dead ones among them because the soldiers really fought them to a standstill until their ammunition finished,” our source added.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun, was not reachable as several calls to his mobile phone were not answered, while text messages were also not replied.

Punch