The deputy governor of Kebbi State, Samaila Yombe, has narrated how bandits attacked him while on a tour to “encourage security agents” fighting the outlaws in parts of the state.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how the deputy governor, who is a retired military officer, escaped death when bandits attacked him in Kanya in Danko Wasagu Local Government Area of the state.
The attack on Mr Yombe came two days after bandits killed 63 volunteer vigilante members in Sakaba local government area.
Serious battle
While addressing journalists in Birnin Kebbi Tuesday evening, Mr Yombe said what happened in Kanya was a serious battle.
“Yesterday in Kanya, a very serious battle took place. What happened was that the bandits mixed up with the people of Kanya in such a way that it was difficult for you to say let us fight these people because the collateral damage would have been great.
“So, I advised the (Army) Commanding Officer (who was part of the convoy) that we should pull out of the town so that the bandits could follow. We did that but in the process, as you know in a battle situation, there is bound to be casualties. The bandits were vulnerable; we were also vulnerable and both sides recorded casualties. They had more casualties than we did,” he said.
Mr Yombe commended the soldiers stationed in Zuru for what he called their “bravery” in dealing with the bandits.
The deputy governor said the bandits got the upper hand because they mixed up with residents but noted that the soldiers did their best because the bandits recorded more casualties.
“You know they (bandits) don’t leave their dead behind, if they must leave they set them ablaze. I saw one or two of the bandits sprinkling fuel on the dead bodies of their colleagues and set them on fire. Security agents even picked one or two of them but they came and recovered their corpses,” he said.
Mr Yombe, who said the bandits came with sophisticated weapons, emphasised the need for security agents to be applauded.
“The bandits could be 150 to 200 but the unit (of soldiers) was of 30 to 32 officers. They did their best and they were only escorting their Commanding Officer who was with me. I commend their professionalism because I saw what I saw. Little as they were, they did a good job of confronting bandits as three times the soldiers. They (bandits) were all equipped with AKPs and heavier weapons than AK-47s. If not because of the terrain, the number of our casualties would not have reached that,” he added.
Why I was in Kanya
According to the deputy governor, he was in Kanya as part of the state government’s efforts to support security agents and sympathise with residents who have been attacked.
“The governor, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, promised to secure lives and properties of the people. A lot has happened. We have been able to supply necessary logistics to security agents to be able to carry out their job. In the process, I had to go and see. You know what we call military battlefield tour to see how they are executing the mission and what are the logistics problems so that I could brief His Excellency for us to meet up with the demands.
“I had done so in Diri, Sakaba local government area where, unfortunately, Yan Sakai were killed by the bandits,” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES
