No fever than 45 bandits have been neutralised by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) with the backing of the Nigerian troops in Kuchi town, Munya local government area of Niger State.
Security sources told LEADERSHIP that the operation, which was carried out in a stealth manner, marked yet another victory in the sustained offensives against terrorists in the area.
The sources revealed that the DSS had, with clear precision followed the trail of the bandits and prevented an invasion on the villages to orchestrate massive attacks, planned by kingpin Dogo Gide, and other bandits loyal to him.
According to the sources, intelligence diligently acquired from the agency’s renewed covert efforts revealed that the terrorists who were from Bilbis forest in Maru LGA of Zamfara and some parts of Kaduna States were invited by Gide to attack villages in the Kuchi area.
The source noted, “In the early hours of Monday, 2nd June 2025, bandits from Kaduna and Zamfara States, numbering about 100, heavily armed with sophisticated weapons, advanced towards Kuchi town in Munya LGA”.
However, operatives launched a surprise attack and waylaid the bandits in the outskirts of Kuchi town.
The operatives engaged the fleeing dissidents in a gun duel, which saw the elimination of the bandits, with several injured and motorcycles and ammunition recovered.
Meanwhile, the reports also indicate that five of the DSS operatives sustained severe injuries and were currently hospitalised.
The source stated that, “This ambush which is a part of sustained offensives against the bandits, followed the earlier decimation of over 50 bandits, has dealt a heavy blow on Dogo Gide who in the past months has been losing huge territories to the superior firepower and covert disruptions by operatives deployed to these troubled spots.
“Serious heat has been turned on them, and we hope they will be sustained. We pray that these efforts, by the SSS that appear quite new and aimed at saving our communities from the bandits, will continue,” he said.
This success, which comes just after the dislodgement of several bandits by operatives of the agency in the same LGA is expected to bring relief to the local communities.
