Bandits in their hideouts around Kagarko, Iche, Taka-Lafiya Gidan Makeri and Jangala communities in Kaduna State are said to have fled after over 100 troops invaded the forest in the Kagarko Local Government Area.
Many communities in Kagarko Chiefdom had been under siege by bandits who have been abducting residents and farmers, making life unbearable for the people.
Following the presence of the troops, who raided their hideouts and some rural communities and arrested some suspected informants, the situation had been contained and relative peace had returned to the area.
A traditional title holder in Kagarko, Suleiman Aliyu, said the troops, who drove into Kagarko town at about 11 a.m. on Wednesday in Hilux vans, trucks and motorcycles, moved straight to Iche, Taka-Lafiya, Gidan Makeri and Janjala villages around the forest to hunt down the bandits.
According to him, “the troops moved in after they got intelligence information that some fleeing bandits from the far north were relocating to form a camp around some villages in the area.”
Aliyu, who hailed the efforts of the troops, explained that after some informants were arrested, residents of Kagarko Chiefdom have been relieved, with residents going about their legitimate businesses.
A source from the palace of the Emir of Kagarko also confirmed that some troops in their large numbers entered the forest, possibly raiding the bandits’ hideouts.