BY NASEER BABA-NASEER, MINNA.
Operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) Niger State Command for the second times in less than two years have raided a residence of a suspected notorious and hardened Boko Haram in the Gbeganu community of Chanchaga Local Government Area of Niger State.
The raid, which took place during the daytime, caused fear among residents in the area; some of them took to their heels and scampered for safety.
It was gathered that the security operatives on arrival in the community went straight to the residence of the suspected Boko Haram, and embarked on aggressive search in his rooms.
A source familiar with the operation said that this was the third raid in less than four years in the neighboring areas of Nkangbe and Gbeganu, both in Chanchaga local government area.
It was however learnt that the suspect targeted in this raid was allegedly a storekeeper for a terrorist group, although specific details about the recovered weapons were not disclosed.
Residents informed our reporter that a substantial amount of cash, including dollars, was recovered and seized during the operation.
The suspect had been known in the locality as a tricycle rider before the raid revealed his identity in the alleged involvement with terrorist activities.
Previous incidents include a similar raid in October 2023, where a suspected terrorist engaged security forces in a fierce gun battle before escaping, and in June 2021, when a house linked to a notorious kidnapper was demolished after weapons were found and recovered in the raid.
The raids on the community is the second in less than two years.
In one of the joint operations carried out by the security teams,some times last year, a residential building of the suspected bandits was demolished by the security operatives.
However, efforts to get reactions from the state command of the secret service, could not yield the needed result, as a source who craved anonymous told this reporter that “we will make the operation Public as soon as our Investigation is completed”