The Avoidable Loss of 17 Soldiers

Ejiofor Alike writes that the recent killing of 17 soldiers in Niger State was a strong message by bandits to reassert their strong firepower and force the government to accept their demands at the recent shameful meeting between the authorities and the wanted bandit leader, Ado Aliero

The bandits that killed 17 Nigerian soldiers in Bangi community in Mariga Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State on June 24, 2025 may have been emboldened to carry out the audacious attack due to the apparent weakness of federal government to tackle banditry as manifested by the failure to capture a notorious bandit leader, Turji Bello.

The recently reported peace meeting between security agents, local leaders and another wanted bandit leader, Ado Aliero in Katsina State, may have also given the terrorists the confidence that Nigeria is in a state of helplessness.

The Nigerian Army, in a statement signed by its Acting Director Army Public Relations, Lieutenant Colonel Appolonia Anele, had confirmed that 17 “brave and gallant” soldiers paid the supreme price during a bloody encounter with terrorists in Niger State, while 10 others sustained varying degrees of injury.

Though unofficial reports claimed that 20 soldiers were killed in the ambush by bandits at a military base around Kwanan Dutse in Mariga LGA, Aniele stated that it was a deliberate joint operation by the military, which successfully thwarted an attempted incursion by over 300 terrorists into the Bangi community, and engaged them in a fierce firefight that lasted over three hours in Kwanar Dutse Forest.

However, Anele could not confirm casualties on the side of the bandits as her statement merely stated that “multiple blood trails along their escape routes presumably indicate significant enemy losses.”

Due to the politicisation of the war against insecurity, many Nigerians have raised doubts over the military’s frequent claims of killing dozens of bandits during operations without any credible evidence to back such claims, unlike bandits who post videos of their raids on military facilities.

For armed bandits to move in large numbers and inflict such heavy casualties on Nigerian soldiers shows the failure of intelligence or lack of adequate weapons to tackle these terrorists or both.

The way and manner they spray military facilities with excess ammunition during raids as shown in viral videos is a confirmation of soldiers’ lack of sophisticated light weapons and enough ammunition to match the firepower of the invaders.

The bandits that carried out the latest attack may have been emboldened by the apparent inability of the security forces to capture a notorious bandit leader, Bello Turji.

The reported peace meeting between security agents, local leaders and another wanted bandit leader, Ado Aliero, also known as Aliero Yankuzo, in Katsina State, may have also given the bandits the confidence that Nigeria is at their mercy.

While Israel with a population of about 10 million was sending her fighter jets and intelligence agents to Iran, a country of over 1,700 kilometers away to take out the country’s top generals, nuclear scientists and other individuals identified as her enemies with military precision, Nigeria, the Giant of Africa, with a population of over 200 million cannot capture her identified enemies within her soil.

Instead of ordering precise military strikes to take out bandits and other terrorists, the Nigerian leaders politicised security and adopted the “repentant terrorists” approach, a contraption designed to reintegrate “repentant” terrorists into the society.

Many Nigerians believe that the gallant Nigerian soldiers, who were previously feared in the United Nations military operations, ECOMOG and other foreign military assignments, have obviously become victims of internal politics.

Under the guise of searching for peace, government officials hold meetings with wanted bandit leaders in the presence of security agents who are supposed to arrest or neutralise these criminal elements.

It was very embarrassing to the image of Nigeria and very devastating to victims of banditry to imagine that Aliero was freely exchanging pleasantries with security personnel during the recent peace meeting in Danmusa LGA of Katsina State.

Aliero, whose name sparks fear, is one of the most dreaded bandit leaders linked to mass killings, kidnappings, cattle rustling and military-styled raids across Zamfara, Katsina and other parts of the North-west. bandit kingpin, who is on the security watchlist, was said to have addressed stakeholders during the session, where he gave conditions for peace in the region.

“As long as you keep calling us terrorists, we will keep acting like terrorists,” he reportedly told his audience.

Unfortunately, the government has not denounced or debunked the reported meeting.

The meeting was a sad moment for the victims of terrorism in the North and other law-abiding Nigerians who might think that it pays to indulge in crimes after seeing a heartless mass murderer being treated like a special guest, instead of a terrorist.

Aliero was first declared wanted in 2020 with a bounty placed on his head, while the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) listed him among Nigeria’s most dangerous criminals in 2024.

It is such a dangerous individual, whose mother and wife were arrested during Hajj in Saudi Arabia in May this year because of their ties to his criminal network that reportedly appeared before the Nigerian security agents and was treated like a special guest.

While Saudi Arabian authorities arrested Aliero’s wife and mother, Nigeria, which is the victim of his crimes, allowed a man whose hands are soaked in blood of innocent Nigerians and military personnel to address security agents, local leaders and even demand military pullbacks.

Aliero’s presence at the meeting has raised serious questions about the sincerity in Nigeria’s counterinsurgency operations.

How will Saudi Arabia and other responsible countries view Nigeria, a country where bandits are shielded by the authorities and treated like VIPs, in the comity of nations?

To demonstrate that bandits are really in control of certain territories in Nigeria, Bello Turji had reportedly ordered residents of Isa LGA in Sokoto State to drain a dam in their community or face brutal consequences.

This was revealed last Monday in a post by security analyst, Bakatsine, on X.

According to the post, Turji claimed that the dam was affecting his group’s movement in the area.

President Bola Tinubu had once ordered security chiefs to relocate to Sokoto State and capture Turji but he has continued to operate freely within the Nigerian territory.

With the Nigerian government’s politicisation of security and apparent lack of commitment and sincerity in the war against bandits, it is not surprising that bandits have continued to confront the Nigerian troops and inflict heavy casualties on them.

How many more Nigerian soldiers will bandits take out before the Nigerian government launches intelligence-based Israeli-like military precision strikes that will take out all her enemies or force them to relocate to the neighbouring countries?