From Taiye Joseph, Ilorin
Four suspected bandits, have been killed while 35 stolen cows and a locally fabricated AK-47 rifle were recovered after security forces, foiled a cattle-rustling operation in Lade, Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The suspects were reportedly neutralised during a gun battle with a joint team comprising personnel of the Kwara State Police Command, Nigerian Army, Forest Guards and local vigilantes.
The operation followed intelligence that armed men had invaded a cattle camp in the area on September 11 and rustled about 40 cows.
Acting on the intelligence, the security team launched a coordinated pursuit of the suspects into the surrounding forest, where the alleged rustlers engaged the operatives in a gun battle.
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Four members of the group were killed during the encounter, while others reportedly escaped into the forest with gunshot wounds.
At the end of the operation, 35 of the stolen cattle were recovered alongside the locally fabricated AK-47 rifle, while efforts have been intensified to track the fleeing suspects and recover the remaining livestock.
The operation has further highlighted the importance of intelligence gathering and collaboration between conventional security agencies and community-based security groups in tackling cattle rustling, banditry and other crimes in rural communities.
The Commissioner of Police in Kwara State, CP Adekimi Ojo, commended the participating security personnel and local vigilantes for their courage, coordination and prompt response.
Ojo urged the operatives to sustain the momentum and strengthen collaboration in the ongoing efforts to rid the state of cattle rustling, banditry and other forms of criminality.
