Deputy Governor Sama’ila Yombe Dabai of Kebbi State, recovering from the trauma of escaping assassination by bandits in the state, narrated the circumstances of the attack and his escape. Bandits had ambushed his convoy in Kanya, Waje District of Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area, Kebbi State, killing many people in the operation on Tuesday.
The deputy governor had in a trending interview, disclosed that the bandits launched the attack with sophisticated weapons and finding their way into the crowd to mix with the locals.
According to Deputy Governor Sama’ila Yombe Dabai: “The bandits mixed up with the inhabitants of Kanya in such a way that it is difficult to differentiate and fight them. So, I advised my security team that we pull out of the community so that we could pull them along and separate them from the inhabitants.
“The bandits were equipped with PSA AK-P and much heavier calibre weapons than AK-47. Despite this, the soldiers stood up and matched them.
“I doff my cap for the soldiers at Zuru Battalion who were few compared to the number of the terrorists.
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“From the gunshots, you will assume they were 200 or 250 terrorists. And the soldiers were a unit of about 30 troops, escorting the commanding officer.”
The deputy governor raised alarm over the huge number of informants in the public who pass information on the movement of troops and vigilante groups to bandits, guiding them on safe operations.
The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the deputy governor on New Media, Atom Turba, in a statement on Wednesday night, indicated that the security aide attached to the Deputy Governor, ASP Idris Libata, and 18 other military personnel were killed by the bandits. Her added that the bandits struck while the deputy governor was with Commanding officer 223 Light Tank Battalion, Zuru, as they were on their way back from inspection of various military formations.