Nigerian troops have dismantled multiple bandit strongholds in Bauchi State, including the notorious Azuge and Hari camps, during a sweeping clearance operation in the Dajin Madam Forest. Soldiers from the 33 Artillery Brigade, backed by the Office of the National Security Adviser, killed several gunmen and forced others to flee, according to an Army Headquarters statement released in Abuja.
The raiders destroyed bandit motorcycles, seized an AK-47 magazine, tramadol packs, police and military uniforms plus two horses, suggesting the gangs had planned to disguise themselves as security personnel. Nineteen relatives of the fugitives—six women and thirteen children—were taken into custody while the forest was secured to block any regrouping. A follow-up sweep of Mainamaji found no fighters, indicating the sustained offensive has degraded their presence. The Army vowed to keep up the pressure and asked civilians to share timely intelligence.
The recovery of police and military uniforms from the bandits points to a dangerous shift: criminals are no longer hiding in the bush but preparing to blend into checkpoints and convoys, a direct threat to every commuter on the Bauchi axis.
That the troops had to level the Azuge and Hari camps before finding these disguises shows how entrenched the gangs had become under the noses of local security structures. The ease with which they obtained service kits raises awkward questions about who supplies uniforms and whether raiding supply chains is even on the security agenda.
For traders plying the Bauchi-Gombe road or farmers returning to abandoned villages, the message is blunt: until the Army can explain how uniforms left legitimate stocks and ended up with bandits, every roadside stop is a potential ambush. Parents will still keep children home from school and herders will still pay protection fees, because a cleared forest means little if impostors can wave them down the next kilometre away.
This is the second major uniform seizure reported in the North-East this quarter; if the Defence Ministry fails to tag, track and account for every kit, the Army may keep winning battles while the public keeps losing trust.
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