{"id":5009,"date":"2026-03-03T09:01:52","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T09:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/?p=5009"},"modified":"2026-03-03T09:01:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T09:01:52","slug":"troops-neutralise-two-bandits-in-benue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/index.php\/2026\/03\/03\/troops-neutralise-two-bandits-in-benue\/","title":{"rendered":"Troops neutralise two bandits in Benue"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Troops of Sector 1 under Operation WHIRL STROKE have neutralised two bandits along the Katsina-Ala\u2013Zaki Biam Road in Benue State. <br \/><br \/>Lieutenant Ahmad Zubairu Zubairu, Acting Media Information Officer, HQ JTF Operation WHIRL STROKE, disclosed this in a statement on March 1, 2026. <br \/><br \/>According to Lt. Zubairu, the troops, in conjunction with the state security outfit known as the Civil Protection Guard, mobilised to the scene based on credible intelligence. <br \/><br \/>&#8220;Troops of Sector 1 under Operation WHIRL STROKE have recorded another significant operational success in their sustained efforts to rid Benue State of criminal and terrorist elements,\u201d the statement read.<br \/><br \/>&#8220;The troops achieved the feat during a combined confidence-building and fighting patrol along the Katsina-Ala\u2013Zaki Biam Road. <br \/><br \/>&#8220;Acting on credible intelligence provided by the locals, the troops swiftly mobilised to the scene in conjunction with operatives of the Benue State Civil Protection Guard. <br \/><br \/>&#8220;Upon arrival at the identified location, troops made contact with the suspected bandits. In the ensuing engagement, two of the terrorists were neutralised, while others fled into the surrounding bush with possible gunshot wounds. <br \/><br \/>\u201cThe troops exploited the area and recovered one AK-47 rifle, one AK-47 magazine, eight rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, and a pair of green camouflage uniform abandoned by the fleeing criminals.\u201d <br \/><br \/>The Force Commander of Operation WHIRL STROKE, Major General Moses Gara, commended the gallantry, professionalism, and swift response of the troops. <br \/><br \/>He noted that their proactive posture and commitment to duty continue to yield positive results in the fight against terrorism and banditry. <br \/><br \/>Major General Gara also expressed appreciation to members of the local communities for providing timely and actionable intelligence, which remains critical to operational success. <br \/><br \/>He encouraged residents to sustain their cooperation with security agencies and assured them of the military\u2019s unwavering resolve to safeguard lives and property. <br \/><br \/>He further urged troops to maintain the established synergy with other security agencies and relevant stakeholders, stressing that collective efforts remain essential to achieving enduring security and stability across the Joint Operations Area.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Troops of Sector 1 under Operation WHIRL STROKE have neutralised two bandits along the Katsina-Ala\u2013Zaki Biam Road in Benue State. Lieutenant Ahmad Zubairu Zubairu, Acting Media Information Officer, HQ JTF Operation WHIRL STROKE, disclosed this in a statement on March 1, 2026. According to Lt. Zubairu, the troops, in conjunction with the state security outfit [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.4 (Yoast SEO v25.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Troops neutralise two bandits in Benue - Security Focus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Troops neutralise two bandits in Benue\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/index.php\/2026\/03\/03\/troops-neutralise-two-bandits-in-benue\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Troops neutralise two bandits in Benue\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Troops neutralise two bandits in Benue\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/index.php\/2026\/03\/03\/troops-neutralise-two-bandits-in-benue\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Security Focus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-03T09:01:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/troops-562x340-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"562\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"340\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Security Focus\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Security Focus\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/index.php\/2026\/03\/03\/troops-neutralise-two-bandits-in-benue\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/index.php\/2026\/03\/03\/troops-neutralise-two-bandits-in-benue\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Security Focus\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/#\/schema\/person\/921a21c9775cf7069adf02b0e3fbaf14\"},\"headline\":\"Troops neutralise two bandits in Benue\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-03T09:01:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/index.php\/2026\/03\/03\/troops-neutralise-two-bandits-in-benue\/\"},\"wordCount\":335,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/index.php\/2026\/03\/03\/troops-neutralise-two-bandits-in-benue\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/troops-562x340-1.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/index.php\/2026\/03\/03\/troops-neutralise-two-bandits-in-benue\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/index.php\/2026\/03\/03\/troops-neutralise-two-bandits-in-benue\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.securityfocus.ng\/index.php\/2026\/03\/03\/troops-neutralise-two-bandits-in-benue\/\",\"name\":\"Troops neutralise two bandits in Benue - 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