Fifteen soldiers, one policeman and unspecified number of civilians were said to have lost their lives when bandits attacked the convoy of the Kebbi State Deputy Governor, Colonel Samaila Yonbe (retd.).
Speaking on the issue, an indigene of the area, Musa Mohammed, said the bandits also took away the uniforms and the rifles of the slain soldiers.
Mohammed added that the corpses of the slain soldiers have been deposited at the Sir Yahaya General Hospital in Birnin Kebbi.
According to him, the deputy governor was on his way to Kenya village with the Commanding Officer, Zuru Army Barracks to condole the people of the village over the killings of 67 vigilante members who were killed by bandits last Monday.
Mohammed said the deputy governor was attacked in Kenya village around 8pm on Tuesday by bandits who stormed the village on hearing the news that he (the deputy governor) was in the village.
“Immediately the bandits arrived the village, they opened fire on the deputy governor’s convoy and the security personnel attached to him also retaliated,” he said.
He added that the bandits, who were in large number, overpowered the deputy governor’s convoy, killing 15 military personnel and a policeman.
He said unspecified number of civilians also lost their lives during the attack.
He explained that the deputy governor escaped unhurt but his Chief Security Officer, SP Nafiu Abubakar, was among those who were killed on the spot.
The deputy governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Abdullahi Yalmo, could not be reached for comment as of the time of filing in this report.