The Niger State House of Assembly has raised the alarm over the occupation by bandits of Nigeria's largest military training camp in Kontagora Local Government Area.
The lawmakers said the bandits' activities have displaced 23 communities around the Nagwamase military cantonment in the Kontagora local council headquarters.
According to the lawmakers, the cantonment is home to the largest military training camp in Nigeria, where artillery corps personnel of the Nigerian Army are trained.
The Assembly said the bandits had taken over the training camp and urged the state government to immediately contact the military authorities to expel them.
The matter was brought to the attention of lawmakers through a motion of urgent public importance moved by the member representing Kontagora Constituency 11, Abdullahi Isah, during a plenary session on Tuesday.
Isah said non-state actors are now occupying the military camp, which occupied a large piece of land stretching from Kontagora local council to part of Mariga local council.
The lawmaker informed his colleagues that since the bandits took over the training camp, 23 farming communities had moved out due to frequent attacks by the gunmen.
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“It is now known that this military camp has been taken over by bandits, who are said to have established at least eight different camps in the area. The presence of the bandits in this training camp, which now serves as a safe haven for them, has posed a serious threat to the security of the communities within the camp, both in Kontagora and Mariga town councils.”
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The lawmaker said that in the last month communities near the training camp had been subject to intense attacks by bandits who operated with impunity, adding that the gunmen were still holding some community members kidnapped during a recent operation.
After deliberation, the House urged the state government to contact the military authorities to intensify efforts to expel the bandits from the training camp and allow the host communities of the facilities to return to their homes.