Nigerian troops have started going after terrorists that were trying to make the Kainji National Park in Borgu Local Government of Niger State their new settlement.

Terrorists fleeing from some northern states, where military operations against them have been very intense, were reported to have been neutralised while a number of them were apprehended and taken into police custody.

Niger State Commissioner for Local Government and Internal Security, Mr Emmanuel Umar, told newsmen in Minna yesterday that, “In the last one week or so, there have been intensive military operations in the area, from Mashegu to Borgu up to Mokwa. They (Terrorists) are already being dislodged.”

He, therefore, vowed that government would not allow the terrorists to settle in the Kainji park, a vast forest spreading up to Benin Republic.

Umar blamed the activities of bandits on the large expanse of the state with a local government being bigger in size than the whole of the South eastern part of the country, coupled with the inaccessibility of the towns and villages, because of their difficult terrains and lack of communication.

He also said bandits were being attracted to parts of the state especially, areas with viable cattle and agricultural produce markets for economic gains but said government had stepped up assaults against the terrorists.

“We have stepped up our game to make sure that the bandits don’t return to these areas,” he said

Following the restoration of peace in some communities especially, Chibane and Galadima-kogo in the Shiroro

Local Government, the villagers have been returning to their ancestral homes to begin living normal lives.

Umar pleaded with the people to collaborate with government and security agencies in the battle against terrorists and bandits, saying “government cannot provide security everywhere; it is unrealistic.”