Terrorists’ Corpses Seen At Kebbi River

Residents found no fewer than 23 corpses dressed in Nigerian military uniform on Thursday, June 16, at Yarkuka River bank that links the northwestern Nigerian states of Kebbi and Zamfara at about 2:30 p.m. WAT. The bodies had multiple gunshot wounds on their heads, faces, chests, pelvis and throats. 

A local barber and a Yarkuka community resident, Samuel, who relocated from the village to the Maga metropolis due to continuous terrorist attacks, said the bodies were floating on the river.

Daniel, 37, told HumAngle that “we are very sure that those dead bodies were the terrorist group members who had a stiff physical combat with the Nigerian Army and Mobile Police in collaboration with the local vigilante who were on a successful rescue mission to repel the terrorist attacks against the communities on Tuesday [June 13] at Yarkuka village.” 

Residents who saw the corpses jubilated. “We are going to be safer soon since most of the terrorist kingpins and their commandants that we know have been killed by the vigilante group,” Timothy, another Yarkuka resident, added. 

Abubakar Kegudu, Chairman of Maga Vigilante Group, participated actively in the fight against the terrorists in the area. “We are happy that the major actors and kingpins are no more. And none of the Mobile Police or Nigerian Army who fought together and repelled Tuesday’s attack were killed. 

“Although many terrorist camps exist at various Zamfara forests, they would now take their atrocities elsewhere and not here,” he said. 

It could be recalled that a band of terrorists have been terrorising settlements in the Kyabu District of Zuru Local Government Area (LGA) of Kebbi State.

Responding to the latest development, Kebbi State Police Command spokesperson Nafiu Abubakar said “residents have reason to jubilate because they are seeing the successes security operatives have been recording. None of our security operatives was killed during the gun duel.

“No criminally minded person is above the law. We are determined and highly committed to fighting insecurity in Kebbi State. In fact, we have already mobilised our men against any impending attack on communities. All we need is a credible and timely report from the residents over the scourge of insecurity in their respective areas.” 

On June 15, 2022, about 200 terrorists were reported to have killed over 30 residents in nine Kebbi communitie and rustled cattle. However, due to the flooding of the Yarkuka River, they remained stranded and unable to enter Zamfara where their hideouts are mostly located.