At least 69 people rescued during various security operations in the Nigerian state of Bauchi

Aug. 19 (EUROPA PRESS) –

At least 69 people have been freed in recent days from the kidnapping groups that usually operate in Nigeria, the so-called “bandits”, after several security operations in the state of Bauchi, in the center-north of the country. .

The releases occurred thanks to the “combined efforts of the security agencies and the ‘vigilantes’ who raided the lairs of the bandits,” explained Thursday the Commissioner for Local Government and Headquarters Affairs, Abdulrazaq Nuhu Zaki, in statements collected by the Nigerian newspaper ‘Vanguard’.

The groups of ‘vigilantes’ to which he alludes are civil organizations of the populations affected by the attacks of the bandits and that have been structured in itinerant patrols to defend themselves from these incursions.

The state governor, Bala Mohamed, has already held talks with his counterparts in the neighboring states of Taraba and Plateau State to increase patrols on the routes most used by these “bandits” and “thus frustrate their movements.”

Nigerian armed groups, specialized in kidnapping and looting, commonly called “bandits” in the country, have caused 564 deaths and 3,420 kidnappings between July 2021 and June 2022 in at least 500 attacks and kidnappings throughout the territory. , according to a report published this weekend by the SBM Intelligence group and collected by the national newspaper ‘Premium Times’.

The report reflects one more aspect of the violence that has plagued the country for years. Another estimate published last month by the local government of the state of Kaduna, one of the most violent in the country, denounced at least 645 deaths during the first six months of this year, not only due to the action of “bandits”, but also by attacks by jihadist groups or intercommunity clashes.