Nigeria, April 27 -- Soon after military forces clashed with the "Mahmuda" terrorists on 11 March, the soldiers returned to their bases, leaving local communities surrounding Kainji National Park, straddling Kwara and Niger states, to suffer violent raids by the terror group.

In a joint operation with local vigilantes, the military operatives drawn from Oyo and Kwara states stormed the terrorists' den inside the Kainji National Park, killing scores of the terrorists, according to Zagazola Makama, a counterinsurgency analyst.

However, a vigilante commander who took part in the operation told PREMIUM TIMES that the terrorists "outnumbered us."

"The soldiers said they don't know that those guys are in large numbers," the vigilante command...