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Dangerously armed bandits riding on motorcycles to their target communities
The Nigerian Military has recorded another decisive blow against armed bandits in the North, neutralising more than 100 terrorists during a coordinated air and ground assault on Makakkari Forest, in Bukuyum Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The stillness of Zamfara’s Makakkari Forest was shattered in the early hours of Sunday when the thunder of military aircraft and the relentless advance of ground troops signalled the beginning of an operation that would leave over 100 bandits dead, their motorcycles smouldering, and their stronghold in ruins.
Zagazola Makama reports that for weeks, intelligence operatives of Operation FANSAN YANMA had tracked unusual movements across the Sunke, Kirsa, and Barukushe axis well-known bandit havens.
Reports indicated that more than 400 armed fighters, led by some of the region’s most feared kingpins, were massing in Makakkari Forest. Their target: Nasarawan Burkullu, a farming community in Bukuyum Local Government Area.
According to a source who spoke to Zagazola, the planned raid of the terrorists was intended to avenge a recent defeat suffered by the criminals in a clash with security forces and hybrid units.
“They thought they could regroup, rearm, and launch another wave of terror,” the sources said. “Instead, they walked straight into a well-laid trap.”
The operation began with Air Force platforms swooping low, unleashing precision strikes on bandit clusters identified by reconnaissance drones. Plumes of smoke rose from the forest as dozens of the terrorists on their motorcycles, the gang’s primary means of mobility, were obliterated.
“Several notorious kingpins and scores of their foot soldiers met their waterloo before they could even fire a shot,” the sources recounted. “Those who tried to scatter were intercepted by our ground assault team in another location.
What made the operation exceptional, the sources said, was the synergy between air and land components.
For the people of Zamfara, this was more than a tactical victory — it was a statement of intent. Operation FANSAN YANMA has pledged to sustain the pressure, targeting not only the fighters in the bush but the networks that sustain them.
“Banditry thrives on fear and impunity,” the sources concluded. “We are dismantling both, one operation at a time.” (Zagazola)
