Bandits on Wednesday dared Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State less than 24 hours of issuing two months ultimatum to surrenders arms to government; they struck on a large-scale kidnapping of over 100 miners and killing 10 persons in the operation. The bandits were said to have kidnapped miners operating between Anka and Maru Local Government Areas of Zamfara State after President Muhammadu Buhari had banned mining in the state.
The bandits used the Wednesday operation to test the trouble waters in Zamfara State where Governor Matawalle declared on Tuesday that President Buhari had deployed 6,000 soldiers to reinforce military operations against bandits.
Meanwhile, the service chiefs were said to have relocated to Katsina State to flush out the bandits in the state.
Zamfara, Katsina have been the leading boiling state in the northwest ravaged by bandits, who are making incursions into Niger State and its environs.