Munya, Niger State — No fewer than 45 armed bandits linked to the notorious kingpin Dogo Gide were neutralized on Monday, June 2, in a joint ambush operation carried out by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and military personnel near Kuchi town in Munya Local Government Area of Niger State.
Security sources confirmed that the operation followed weeks of intelligence gathering, which uncovered a plot by Gide’s men to stage a large-scale assault on rural communities in the area.
Acting on this intelligence, a tactical strike team intercepted the bandits — believed to number over 100 — as they advanced from Zamfara and Kaduna states into Niger. The attackers, who had assembled in Bilbis forest in Maru LGA, were lured into a deadly trap just before they could launch their raid.
“The operation was executed in the early hours and caught the bandits off-guard,” a senior security official disclosed. “Forty-five of them were eliminated in the ensuing firefight, while others fled with gunshot wounds.”
According to the source, the DSS had been tracking the movement of the group days before the ambush, using signals intelligence and informants on the ground. Weapons, ammunition, and several motorcycles used by the assailants were recovered from the scene.
The security official added that five operatives sustained serious injuries during the engagement and are currently being treated at a secure facility.
This latest success is part of an intensified crackdown on banditry in Niger State, where Dogo Gide’s influence has been significantly weakened in recent months. The kingpin, who once held sway across wide swathes of the North Central and North West, has seen his operational cells disrupted by a string of coordinated assaults by federal security agencies.
“This is not an isolated operation,” the official said. “It’s part of a broader strategy to dismantle the network of armed groups terrorizing Niger communities.”
Local residents, who have endured years of violence and displacement, are said to be breathing a sigh of relief following the news of the offensive.
In recent weeks, the DSS and military have launched multiple raids in Munya and neighboring LGAs, reclaiming territory and pushing insurgents further back into their forest enclaves.
Authorities say the momentum will be sustained until total peace is restored in the affected areas.
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