By Newspointer News Desk
January 4, 2026
The Nigerian Army has disrupted an emerging bandits’ movement and supply corridor in parts of Kogi State, killing three suspected criminals, recovering arms and ammunition, and arresting an alleged logistics supplier during coordinated intelligence-driven operations.
Troops of the 12 Brigade, Lokoja, carried out the operations on January 3, 2026, following credible intelligence on the movement of armed bandits across Kabba/Bunu and Yagba West Local Government Areas, locations security sources describe as strategic routes linking forest hideouts and rural communities.
Confirming the development, the Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, 12 Brigade, Lt. Hassan Abdullahi, said troops conducted fighting patrols and ambushes to deny criminal elements freedom of movement and prevent their infiltration into vulnerable communities.
He explained that intelligence indicated bandits were moving from the Adankolo axis towards Agbadu Bunu in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area, prompting troops to lay an ambush at a known crossing point where the criminals ran into the soldiers and were decisively engaged.
According to Abdullahi, two bandits were neutralised during the encounter, while troops recovered one AK-47 rifle, one magazine, 99 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, a locally fabricated gun and 11 cartridges, suggesting sustained resupply efforts by the criminal group.
In a related operation in Yagba West Local Government Area, troops working alongside local vigilantes responded to intelligence on bandits’ movement around Saminaka village, which was found deserted on arrival, prompting a systematic search of surrounding forests and access routes.
During the operation, one bandit was neutralised along a withdrawal route after contact with the troops, with an AK-47 rifle and 17 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition recovered, while a suspected logistics supplier, identified as Sunday Adedotun from Odo-Eri village, was arrested on a nearby farmland.
Items recovered from the suspect included cartons of energy drinks, soft drinks, bottled water and harvested farm produce, materials security sources say are commonly used to sustain armed groups in forest camps, as the Commander of 12 Brigade, Brigadier General Kasim Umar Sidi, assured residents that aggressive intelligence-led operations would continue to dismantle criminal networks and restore lasting peace in the state.
Saminaka miners shd be dismantled immediately. They have been infiltrated.