Seventeen bandits and 10 police officers were killed on Monday when security personnel engaged a large group of armed men moving from Zamfara State into Kebbi State. Two civilians were also killed in the encounter around the Rafin Makuku axis of Sakaba Local Government Area of Kebbi State, the police said. The bandits, estimated by residents to number about 240 and travelling on more than 200 motorcycles, reportedly moved from the Sangeko Gap area of Dansadau District in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State. “The bandits killed 10 mobile policemen and two civilians and carted away their rifles,” he alleged. Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the Kebbi State Police Command, DSP Bashir Usman, said 17 suspected bandits had so far been assessed to have been neutralised.