The Nigeria Army, under the Operation Sahel Sanity, recovered 711 cows and 592 sheep from July 6 to July 11 in three North West states, an official said on Sunday.
The Acting Director of Defence Media Operations, Brig.-Gen. Bernard Onyeuko made this known at a press briefing at the Special Army Super Camp in Faskari, Katsina.
Onyeuko noted that the Chief of Army Staff flagged-off the campaign on July 6 to root out armed bandits, cattle rustlers, kidnappers and other criminal elements from North West.
He said that the cows and sheep were recovered in Sokoto, Zamfara and Katsina states.
He said that on July 7, following intelligence reports, the army mobilised troops to Magira, Makwaruwa, Garin Damo, Kasale Made, Dadin Kowa, Gangara and Shadama in Sabon Birni and Isa LGAs of Sokoto State, and pursued armed bandits who exchanged fire with them.
He said that army troops intercepted the bandits with a large number of rustled cattle from Jangemi Village forest to Kwaren Ganuwa, adding that the bandits fled toward Munhaye Forest.
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According to him, the troops recovered 250 cows and 150 rams from them.
Similarly, on July 8, the troops arrested one Malam Halilu Ibrahim, a suspected bandit informant and seller of rustled cattle, who was about to display some stolen cows for sale, according to Onyeuko.
The official told journalists that the suspect confessed that the cattle belonged to a notorious bandit leader.
He added that a total of 18 cows were recovered from him and duly handed over to their owners.
He also said that on July 9, following a tip-off on the activities of armed bandits and cattle rustlers in Ruwan Dawa in Maradun area in Zamfara, the troops recovered 14 cows.
The official called on members of the public to continue to support the army and other security agencies with intelligence information to facilitate their operations.
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