Sources said that the hunters, in a sting-like operation, invaded the ‘Riverside’ community in Magami between Shiroro and Rafi Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the State on Wednesday, 1 September, 2021, killing the terrorists.

The community, which is close to a river, has been used as hideouts by the terrorists. It is also the location of their their camps in that axis of the State.

A Police intelligence officer who confirmed the spectacular performance of the local hunters, said that the terrorists who were not killed fled with gunshot wounds.

“I can tell you for a fact that the bandits (terrorists) met their waterloo. At least 47 of them were eliminated by the hunters who participated in the operation,” he said.

It is not yet clear if the hunters are part of the recently inaugurated Niger Special Vigilante Corps (NSVC), an initiative of the Niger State government in conjunction with the Nigeria Police in order to streamline the activities of all local security groups in the State.

During the inauguration of the Corps in June 2021, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of the state said the activities of banditry would not intimidate the people or the government as they would not allow bandits to change the style of living of the people.

Sani-Bello had said: “Bandits want to force us to change our way of life in Niger State but we won’t allow them.

“They stopped our children from going to school, they stopped us from travelling on our roads, they stopped farmers from going to the farm and now they are trying to stop from anything, but we will not be intimidated. We will not allow that to happen; we will continue to live our normal lives.”

PRNigeria