Gunmen killed at least 22 security personnel at a remote army base in a northwestern Nigerian state plagued by bandits and kidnappers, a lawmaker said.
Aminu Gobir and another security source said bandits attacked the base in Sokoto State close to the border with Niger on Sunday, killing 14 soldiers, five police officers and three members of a civil defence force.
Reuters could not independently verify either account. The clash took place in an area where it is unsafe to travel due to the risk of attacks and abductions, and where the authorities have shut down telecoms networks to help an ongoing military crackdown on bandit camps. “The aggressive operations of troops ... as witnessed in recent months in the northwest region has been a thorn in the flesh of ISWAP and bandits,” he said, without elaborating.