Twelve members of an anti-jihadist militia were killed in clashes with gang members in northwest Nigeria, sources close to the paramilitaries told AFP.

Northwest and central Nigeria have been plagued for more than a decade by criminal gangs, generally referred to by the authorities as bandits — “bad elements” or “robber gangs” — who commit murderous raids and looting of villages, kidnapping for ransom and .ok

Although their main motivation is money, the authorities and analysts are concerned because their relations with jihadist organizations that have been fighting against the state for the past fourteen years in the north-eastern part of the country are increasing.

Members of local paramilitary groups formed to counter the jihadists said they killed dozens of thugs in fighting in Sokoto state on Sunday.

AFP points out that it was unable to independently verify this claim.

“We killed over fifty thugs, but unfortunately we lost twelve men,” said a member of a paramilitary group involved in the fighting.

“We lost twelve of our allies in fighting with violent elements outside a village (…) near the border with Niger,” said Babakura Kolo, head of an anti-jihadist paramilitary group operating in the northeast of Africa’s most populous country.

This particular paramilitary organization, which was formed in 2013, is organized and trained by the armed forces and fights jihadist factions alongside them.