Troops have neutralised a notorious bandits leader, Kachalla Gudau, and his trusted aide, Rigimamme, in Kankomi Forest, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The two were among several bandits killed by troops of the Nigerian Army in operation on Sunday.

Samuel Aruwan, Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, made the confirmation in a statement issued on Wednesday in Kaduna.

Mr Aruwan said Mr Gudau, a dreaded bandit, commanded many bandits carrying out kidnappings and killings in Chikun, Kachia and Kajuru Local Government Areas of the state.

According to him, diligent exploitation of human intelligence networks corroborated other available intelligence confirming the death of the bandits.

“Gudau was indeed one of those felled by the bullets of the courageous troops as they repelled an attack led by the notorious bandit himself, ending his ignoble reign of brutality and evil.

“The remains of the notorious bandit, who is said to have links with other notorious kingpins across the North-West and North-Central states, were retrieved in the Kankomi forest where he bled to death.

“Credible sources reported that after his remains were retrieved, a large number of bandits under his command buried him in a location said to be around Kaku Forest, situated in the Kaso general area of Chikun LGA.

“The identity of another of the neutralised bandits whose remains were found by the troops has been confirmed as ‘Rigimamme’, one of Gudau’s trusted criminal aides,” Mr Aruwan said.

He explained that Mr Gudau played leading roles in the joint kidnappings of students and expatriates in Kajuru, Chikun and Kachia LGAs.

He added that the bandit was also involved in the murders of kidnapped citizens and victims who resisted abduction.

“Gudau was engaged in coordinated attacks on herder settlements, disposing them of livestock, which made him the illegal possessor of large herds of cattle,” Mr Aruwan said.

The commissioner added that Mr Gudau was also into illegal drug deals and acquiring sophisticated arms and ammunition.

He said in the first and second quarters of 2022, Mr Gudau and his partners rustled 1,600 and 3, 332 cattle, respectively, in Kajuru LGA alone.

“The heat of the kinetic operations which denied his bandits freedom of action may have prompted the attack on the military base in Kankomi, where he met his Waterloo.”

He added, “They will be made to face justice or their bitter end, no matter how distant it might seem.”

Mr Aruwan said Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s commitment to containing crime rate remained unshakeable.

(NAN)