Village Head Held, District Head on the Run as Police Kill 104 Bandits in Zamfara

Makik Yahya & NAN/

 

Zamfara State has declared wanted a district head as it also announced the arrest of a village head who took part in the kidnapping of seven family members of a commissioner.

This was just as the Joint Intervention Force set up by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris, yesterday killed 104 bandits during a shootout in Zamfara State.

Declared wanted is Alhaji Mohammed Sani, district head of Ruwan Jema in Bukkuyum local government area. The government said he has been on the run for months now.

The village head of Gurbin Bore in Zurmi local government area, Alhaji Bello Magaji was confirmed to have participated in the kidnap of seven family members of the state’s Commissioner of Youth, Alhaji Abdullahi Gurbin Bore.

At a press briefing in Gusau on Friday, the state Commissioner of Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Bello Dankande said the district head, Sani was implicated in the attacks on innocent citizens by bandits in the state.

According to him, investigations had proved that the district head was among the traditional rulers who refused to heed several warnings by the state government, urging traditional rulers to steer clear of the bandits.

He explained that the district head abandoned his royal house and his subjects for over three months when he learned that security operatives were planning to pick and question him over his involvement with the bandits.

The commissioner noted that a dragnet had already been spread to arrest the district head.

He said the village head of Gurbin Bore in Zurmi local government area and his collaborators collected N10 million ransom before releasing their victims after two weeks in captivity.

Dankande explained that in the course of the investigation, it was discovered that the village head fell apart with his fellow kidnappers who only gave him N800, 000 instead of the agreed 10 per cent of the total sum which is N1 million.

“The village head had also been removed from his position and would be prosecuted in a court of law along with six other traditional rulers accused of the same offence.”

The commissioner said the state government in collaboration with security agencies were still investigating some traditional rulers suspected of banditry and if found guilty would be removed and prosecuted.

“The state government thanked the general public in the state for supporting security agencies with information leading to the arrest of bandits and dislodgement of their hideouts,” he added.

The police special team also arrested 85 other suspected bandits during the operation.

The special force, comprising counter-terrorism unit, mobile force, Federal SARS and with air support, destroyed 50 hideouts of the bandits in five camps and also recovered from them over 250 heads of cattle and 109 sheep.

However, one policeman died during the counter-assault while 12 others were wounded

A statement by the police spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, an acting deputy commissioner said the IGP had deployed the DIG Operations to take control of the continuous operation in the state to rout bandits.

Three surveillance helicopters are assisting the police mission.

The Police Joint Operation Team had run into an ambush laid by the bandits in the evening of 29 November at Mahanga Forest in Birnin Mogaji.

The police fired back and killed scores them.

Zamfara had been in the news as a nest of bandits, kidnappers and cattle rustlers. The criminals had also been killing many innocent villagers.

Thus the Inspector General of Police on 9 November, 2018, deployed to the state the Police Joint Intervention Team of about 1000 Police personnel comprising the Seven Units of Police Mobile Force (PMF) headed by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Police Anti-Bomb (EOD) Squad, and conventional Policemen.

The police spokesman said the team recorded significant progress in the arrest of more than 85 suspects and the recovery of 27 AK47 Rifles and 52 locally fabricated rifles and other dangerous weapons.

He added: “Now, the DIG, Department of Operation and the Police Joint Team have been mandated to also coordinate the Commissioner of Police, Zamfara State and personnel of the Command to sustain and restore lasting peace throughout Zamfara State.”

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