Nigeria says army has killed 300 bandits in north-western state of Zamfara

Gangs made up of cattle rustlers and jihadists have long terrorised communities in northern and central Nigeria

Nigerian soldiers killed more than 300 members of kidnapping and cattle bandit gangs in the north-western state of Zamfara this week, according to a government official.

Nigerian government troops targeted the gangs in Gummi district in a two-day operation that “led to the elimination of more than 300 terrorists,” Zamfara’s information commissioner, Mahmud Muhammad Dantawasa, said in a statement.