Troops of the Joint Task Force, JTF, have foiled an attempted attack by bandits on several communities in Shanono Local Government Area of Kano State after hours of fighting.

The clash began late on Thursday night and continued into the early hours of Friday in Yankwada, Babanduhu and nearby villages.

Confirming the incident, the Nigerian Army spokesperson in Kano, Maj. Zubair Babatunde, said the bandits attempted to enter the communities on motorcycles while shooting sporadically.

He explained that the attack was a revenge mission following the bandits’ loss of fighters to military firepower during an earlier encounter last week.

According to Babatunde, the attackers arrived at about 1 am, but troops responded swiftly.

“The bandits were effectively engaged and dislodged by the military,” he said.

He added that the prompt action of the troops prevented loss of lives and major property damage.

Babatunde reassured residents that the military would continue to protect lives and property and urged them to provide timely and credible information to security agencies.

He also said troops remained on high alert to prevent further attacks and maintain peace in the state.

The chairman of the Shanono/Bagwai Community Security Forum, Alhaji Yahya Bagobiri, also confirmed the incident. He said the bandits launched the attack in retaliation for losing nine of their members the previous week.

“The bandits, riding over 50 motorcycles, each carrying three persons armed with bazookas and other heavy weapons, raided Yankwada, Babanduhu, and other villages, opening fire from around 1 am on Thursday to 5 am on Friday, resulting in the killing of a civilian,” he said.

Bagobiri praised the military for stopping the bandits from reaching the main towns.

“The bandits were dislodged by the military’s tactical fighting even though they came with heavy arms, but succeeded only in stealing 100 cows and killing one civilian,” he said.

He called on the Federal Government to provide more weapons and deploy additional personnel to support security forces on the ground.

Bagobiri said that with more arms and support from the Nigerian Air Force, peace could return to Shanono, Bagwai, Tsanyawa and Gwarzo.

“The intention of the bandits was to penetrate Kano, but the redeployment of more military personnel and provision of more arms would stop their criminal missions,” he added.