At least six General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs) and more than 30,000 rounds of ammunition were seized from a Nigerian Army joint task force by bandits in Obanla, Kwara State, last month, SaharaReporters has learned.
According to security sources, the heavily armed gang that carried out the attack is the same group now terrorising parts of Kogi State, where dozens of residents have been killed in recent days.
The bandits reportedly ambush military units after receiving intelligence about their impending operations against them.
“Last month, six General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs) and over 30,000 rounds of ammunition were seized from the Nigerian Army in Obanla, Kwara State,” a senior military officer told SaharaReporters.
“It was seized by bandits from the Nigerian Army’s joint task force. They’re the ones that have now reached Kogi and are wreaking havoc.
“They killed 27 people in Kogi yesterday, but it was not reported.”
“Their modus operandi is to get intelligence of impending military response and ambush them,” one security operative familiar with the situation said.
Sources disclosed that while the Nigerian Air Force initially tracked the movement of the armed group, it later declined requests for sustained aerial support during the firefight.
The failure of the NAF to provide aerial support allowed the bandits to overpower the troops and cart away their weapons.
“The operation once again exposed the deep lack of synergy between Nigeria’s security agencies,” a senior military officer told SaharaReporters.
“The Army and the Police could not coordinate effectively, and even when the Air Force was invited to provide crucial aerial support, they simply refused to respond.”
According to sources, in the aftermath of the incident, the Kwara State Government was handed an old video clip of an aerial bombardment to circulate as evidence of a “successful operation.”
The footage was later found to be fake.
“The state governor was then given an old video of an aerial bombardment to circulate; this was later exposed to be fake,” one of the sources said.
“This is why insecurity persists, not because Nigeria lacks firepower, but because those entrusted with securing the nation are locked in rivalry, inefficiency, and institutional arrogance.”
SaharaReporters earlier reported that Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s media aide circulated old photographs of NAF airstrikes in Borno State, falsely presenting them as recent military operations in Kwara.
The images were shared after bandit attacks in Oke-Ode and nearby villages in Ifelodun Local Government Area left more than a dozen people dead and displaced several residents.
Under growing public pressure, the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on New Media, Olayinka Fafoluyi (popularly known as Solace), posted the photographs on Facebook, claiming they showed NAF air raids against terrorists in Kwara South.
However, a SaharaReporters fact-check confirmed that the images were from an air force operation under Operation HADIN KAI in Bula Marwa, Borno State, conducted in October 2024.
The photographs, originally published by PRNigeria, had no connection to the recent violence in Kwara.
Recent Attacks On Yagba West
SaharaReporters earlier reported on Sunday that no fewer than 27 people were killed on Saturday when armed bandits launched a brutal attack on several communities in Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State.
A military source confirmed the incident to SaharaReporters, describing the attackers as heavily armed and in possession of sophisticated weapons.
“Bandits killed 27 people in Yagba West, Kogi State, just yesterday, and it was not reported. They invaded the area with heavy weapons,” the source said.
Yagba West, the home local government of Senator Sunday Karimi, who represents Kogi West Senatorial District and chairs the Senate Committee on Services, has recently come under a series of deadly bandit attacks.
For instance, on Friday, SaharaReporters reported that bandits struck early in the morning in Bareke, Egbe, Yagba West Local Government Area of the state.
SaharaReporters learnt that the assailants targeted a residential home around 2 a.m., abducting a woman and her two children.
The woman’s husband narrowly escaped with injuries during the raid, which occurred near the residence of Senator Karimi in Egbe.
The attack followed a similar incident in Ejiba, on Thursday, another community in Yagba West, where a commercial bus was attacked and all passengers were kidnapped.
During that incident, SaharaReporters learnt that a motorcyclist identified by serial number 256 was reportedly killed.
These recent incidents highlight a growing wave of insecurity in Kogi’s Yagba West area, raising concerns among residents about the safety of their lives and property.
In a related incident, SaharaReporters reported on Thursday that bandits stormed Bethel Farm in Ejiba, Yagba West LGA, on the night of Wednesday, October 1, kidnapping three individuals.
Community sources told SaharaReporters that earlier on Wednesday morning, along the route between Ejiba and Odo-Eri, the gang attacked a bread distributor, shooting one of the staff members during the assault.
Photographs obtained by SaharaReporters show a burnt motorcycle believed to belong to vigilante officers who confronted the bandits during the night attack.
On Friday, September 26, 2025, SaharaReporters released a video showing Okunran, a community in Yagba West LGA, completely deserted after residents fled following recent deadly attacks by armed bandits.
The footage showed abandoned homes and empty streets, highlighting the scale of the exodus. Sources said the mass flight was prompted by repeated assaults on the community, forcing locals to seek safety elsewhere.
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