Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Henry Owen
Abuja, Nigeria — Coordinated military air strikes and ground offensives have targeted armed bandit and suspected terrorist hideouts in parts of Edu, Ifelodun and Patigi Local Government Areas of Kwara State, disrupting criminal networks and dealing a significant blow to entrenched camps that have long terrorised communities in the region.
Security sources and preliminary battlefield reports indicate that the sustained campaign struck multiple hideouts used by notorious kidnappers and extremists, including positions around Baba Sango in Ifelodun, Gbugbu forests in Edu, and Lata community in Patigi. The combined operations, involving aerial bombardment and ground troop maneuvers, reportedly destroyed several of these camps and forced combatants to flee their entrenched positions into surrounding forests and border areas.
Military officials described the offensive as part of a wider effort under ongoing national security initiatives — including intelligence-led operations and joint air-ground strategies — to dismantle the infrastructure of banditry and terrorism across the Kwara–Niger axis. Preliminary theatre reports suggest that many criminal elements have been neutralised or sustained injuries, and that the campaign has thrown the groups into disarray, disrupting command structures and logistics that sustained their activities.
Residents in affected areas have expressed cautious relief as the strikes and clearance missions began to alleviate some of the persistent insecurity that has prevailed for months, including kidnappings, cattle rustling and armed raids. Security sources say the operations have reduced the grip of criminal networks on rural belts that had for long operated with relative freedom due to difficult terrain and limited security presence.
However, military spokespeople also voiced concerns that informants and collaborators within local communities have at times undermined the effectiveness of operations by leaking information about troop movements to criminal groups, allowing some fighters to evade capture. They have urged residents to cooperate with security forces and provide credible intelligence to enhance operational success and community safety.
As the campaign continues, troops are reported to be extending their reach deeper into surrounding forests and borderlands, maintaining pressure on fleeing suspects and consolidating gains to prevent regrouping. Security authorities emphasised that the operations aim not only to destroy hideouts but also to protect innocent civilians, restore normalcy and prevent further attacks across vulnerable communities in Kwara State.
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