The troops of 17 Brigade Nigerian Army in conjunction with personnel of the Nigeria Police Force have averted a planned attack by Armed bandits on Magama Central Mosque in Jibia LGA of Katsina State.
The incident occurred in the early morning hours of Monday where several locals had gone to observe the late night Ramadan prayers.
A statement by the Director Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Mohammed Yerima said a large number of bandits came firing sporadically in an attempt to disrupt the prayers and abduct innocent worshippers but the bandits were forced to withdraw in disarray as they met with overwhelming firepower from a combined team comprising troops and police personnel who were tactically deployed in the town following earlier Intelligence received on the planned attack.
”While the troops maintained vigilance in the area to forestall further attack on the mosque, the fleeing criminals while retreating decided to raid a local mosque at the outskirts of Jibia Town where they kidnapped some persons,” the statement said.
On getting the information, the combined team mounted a pursuit on the bandits, forcing them to abandon most of the hostages while fleeing with an unknown number. The rescued victims have since been reunited with their families while further efforts are ongoing to rescue the others in collaboration with neighbouring military establishments including those of Niger Republic.
The statement further said ”the situation in Jibia is under control as reinforcements have since arrived the area in order to facilitate the rescue efforts as the security agencies advised the residents to go ahead with their normal business and report any suspicious activity to the security agency nearest to them.”
Mercy Chukwudiebere
