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How NAF Airstrikes Killed Zamfara Bandits’ Leaders, Others
Early morning airstrikes by personnel of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Saturday morning claimed the lives of two kingpins and about a dozen other bandits operating around Birnin Magaji Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that a notorious bandit, Alhaji Auta, was killed when a military jet dropped a bomb on him as he was being conveyed on a motorcycle from his camp to the location of his herds of cattle, early in the morning.
The sustained attacks also claimed the lives of many of his gang around his camp and adjoining areas.
The raid on Auta’s camp is a second major victory recorded by the air force within the space of a month, after the raid that killed the twin kingpins, Tawaye, in Dumburum in the first week of December.
Multiple sources confirmed Auta’s death yesterday, though there was no official report on the operation.
A resident of the area who doesn’t want to be mentioned said the bomb that killed the bandit was dropped on him while riding along Nasarawa Mailayi-Gusami Road.
While Auta’s death was corroborated by the sources who spoke to our reporter, the account of what followed after the first airstrike that killed him differed.
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A resident of Birnin Magaji, who gave his name as Jamilu, said 12 of Auta’s men were eliminated when they rushed to the scene to pick his body.
But two sources however gave the casualty in the second attack as seven, who, they said, were killed after Auta’s funeral.
Aliyu Birnin Magaji, another resident, said the jet returned to the area three times, after killing Auta, including around 9:30pm last night.
“Mourners who had gathered after he was killed were bombed and seven of them were killed. After the jet left, their friends came back to move the bodies but the jet returned and bombed them. Right now no one knows how many were killed as no one is willing to go there,” he said.
Aside Auta, another arrowhead in his group, Kachalla Ruga, was also reported dead.
Auta is among the four arrowheads of the gunmen terrorising the Birnin Magaji area, others being Alhaji Shingi, Alhaji Nashama and Shehu Bagewaye.
Commenting on the operation, a researcher who recently interviewed Auta, James Barnett, described Auta as a “deadly bandit” as he called for a concerted effort on all fronts to consolidate the aftermath.
“He was also a de facto powerbroker in Birnin Magaji. He kept that area from being overrun by other gangs like that of Turji and he had historically been one of the key negotiators in previous amnesty deals in Zamfara State.
“Federal and state governments need to be prepared for handling any fallout of his death, including bandits staging reprisals against local communities, Auta’s gang fracturing, or bandits who had been in amnesty talks withdrawing from these talks. Coordination between state and federal governments and all security agencies is needed to ensure that kinetic and non-kinetic actions are in sync and complement each other,” he said.
Daily Trust
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200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS
200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has disclosed that about 200,000 repentant terrorists have so far dropped their arms and surrendered to troops in the North East, noting that the twin strategy of kinetic and non-kinetic operations was responsible for this achievement.
The CDS made this known at the Security and Justice Symposium organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in collaboration with the British High Commission, which began at the National Counterterrorism Centre in Abuja on Tuesday.
He disclosed that the theme of the symposium, ”Securing Peace, Ensuring Justice, Protection, Conduct, and Accountability,” speaks volumes about the deluge of security challenges the armed forces and security agencies are facing.
His words, “All the challenges we are facing today have to do with fairness, equity, justice, and accountability.
“There will not be peace without justice, equity, fairness, and accountability. In our operations, we are conducting both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies, which have to a large extent yielded significant successes, and we want to particularly thank the National Security Adviser for his great support in this regard.
“Nigeria is going through so many challenges, and we feel we’re able to address this, and everybody has a sense of belonging. A lot of the security challenges we are having, we are sure, will go down. I want to thank the National Security Advisor for all the support he’s given us, both the kinetic and the non-kinetic.
“We have said it; the kinetic aspect is just less than 30%. The non-kinetic has a lot to play. The non-kinetic, because when you have democracy, people must have the evidence of democracy. As long as it tells people to sleep well and be peaceful, and they are hungry, their children cannot eat, and all this creates more problems.
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“The issue of informants. We have to look at how we tackle this issue of informants. Because these are the people who have created the issue.
200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS
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Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
The spokesperson for the police in Delta State, SP Bright Edafe, has confirmed the death of two robbery suspects in the state.
Mr Edafe, who disclosed this to journalists on Tuesday in Warri, said that the deceased were killed from the bullets shot by their gang members.
According to him, the incident occurred on Wednesday at Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of the state.
Mr Edafe explained that the deceased were leading the police surveillance team attached to the Ekpan Division to their hideout when they were caught during a shoot-out.
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“The suspects were arrested at Effurun roundabout with a bag containing 57 live cartridges and other items. They were leading the surveillance team to their hideout at Warri/Sapele road when their gang members, on sighting the vehicle of the police team, engaged them in a shootout.During the gun duel, the arrested suspects that were leading the police team were fatally wounded by the gun shot of their colleagues. The two injured suspects were taken to the hospital and later died while receiving treatment,” he said.
Mr Edafe said that items recovered from the hoodlums hideout included: one English pump action gun, one locally made cut-to-size gun and eight live cartridges.
Others were: six iPhones, Smart phones and a Rolex wrist watch.
He said that the command had intensified manhunt on the fleeing members of the gang.
Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
(NAN)
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