Twelve security operatives have been killed after an attack by bandits on a military base in Mutumji, Zamfara state on Saturday.
According to AFP, security sources revealed that the bandits stole weapons after the attack and also set houses on fire.
The identities and motives of the assailants are not yet clear, but the army is engaged in operations in Zamfara against armed criminal gangs known as bandits who have been blamed for a series of mass abductions.
Telecommunications have also been cut in Zamfara and in parts of neighbouring State Katsina in an attempt to disrupt bandit communications about army movements during the crackdown.
“The attackers stormed the base around 10:30 am and engaged the troops in a fierce gun battle,” one security source said.
“They subdued the troops and killed 12 of them. They included nine navy, a soldier and two policemen.”
A second security source confirmed the casualties.
The base in Mutumji, Dansadau district, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the state capital Gusau, is a key site for logistics and reconnaissance in the army’s fight against bandits in the area.
Gunmen frequently attack military bases in Borno State, the heart of a 12-year insurgency that has killed 40,000 people.
However, heavily armed criminal gangs who raid villages and kidnap for ransom in the northwest and central states have also become more brazen.
In July, bandits shot down a Nigerian Air Force fighter jet flying over Zamfara while it was returning from a mission.
The pilot safely ejected and managed to escape capture.
Bandits also attacked the country’s elite defence academy in northwest Kaduna State last month, killing two officers and kidnapping another in a raid in one of the symbols of the armed forces.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
