Army begins operations to dislodge bandits from its vast land in Kontagora
The Nigerian Army has started counter-operations strategies to dislodge bandits and other criminal gangs that have stablished theie camps in a vast, unused Army land in the Kontagora Local Government Area of Niger State.
Bandits had established their camp at Matan Kari, Fagai Ozowo, Bihima and Kan Libo, among other mountains inside the Army land, following long years of unuse.
Security sources disclosed that camps are located in mountainous areas within the extensive land area.
The huge army land starts from the barracks in Kontagora town, extends to Mai Guge community in Mariga Local Government Area. It is almost 40km in size.
Beside the barracks, the Nigerian Army Corps of Artillery, NACA and the Nigerian Army Training Centre, NATRAC, are two other military institutions located in Kontagora LG.
The army a various points beside the Kontagora-Mariga road, mounted the signage of their land, indicating ownership and warning trespassers to keep off. The inscription of the signage read, “Nigerian Army Training Area Kontagora. Army Land. Keep Off/Ba Shiga”.
It was learnt that the Kambaris are the original owners of the land before they sold it to the Army over 30 years ago.
While the Army is yet to start training of its personnel, bandits have found ‘haven’ in the fallow land, using it to carry out their terror-inducing crime.
Due to the vast expanse of the Army land, it was learnt that the Kontagora Emirate Council had long suggested reduction of the plot and its leasing to people, to inhabit.
Sometime between November and December last year, it was gathered from credible sources that the Kontagora Emirate Council requested deployment of troops to tackle the rampaging bandits in its domain.
