TWO bandit kingpins, IT Savvy, Sani Black and Kachalla Makore have been confirmed killed in Zamfara.
The two bandits were responsible for banditry attacks in Dansadau districts and environs as well as other parts of the Maru Local Government Area of the state.
Confirming the killing, the Senior Special Adviser to Zamfara State Governor on Media and Communications, Alhaji Mustapha Jafaru Kaura, said Sani Blalck was killed on Sunday at Yar-Tasha village while Kachalla Makore was eliminated on Tuesday at Kunkeli village both in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Kaura explained that the two notorious bandit leaders were killed alongside their 23 closest lieutenants in a joint operation by the personnel of the Zamfara State Community Protection Guards (CPG) and Nigerian troops.
“After Sani Black was killed in an ambush at Yar’Tasha village on Sunday, September 22, 2024, his lieutenant Kachalla Makore mobilized his men on Tuesday, September 24 and headed to Yar-Tasha to recover Black’s corpse and avenge the attack.
“Fortunately, he too was ambushed and killed in Kunkeli village of Dansadau district, Maru local government.
“Black was killed alongside his eight closest lieutenants while Makore was killed together with his 15 foot soldiers.
“Makore had burnt an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) and injured two soldiers during his encounter with security personnel in Kunkeli village,” he said.
The senior special adviser described the development as a breakthrough in the ongoing fight against banditry in the state, urging security personnel in the state to sustain the tempo until all bandits terrorizing the state were subdued.
Kaura reiterated the state government’s commitment in the crusade against banditry, saying it would continue to give all necessary support to the security agencies to end banditry in the state.
He appealed to the people of the state to always help the security agencies with useful information that will lead to arrest or killing of bandits in their respective communities.
The Federal Government had earlier in the month directed the Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Matawalle and other military chiefs to move to Sokoto State to rid the North-West of the menace of banditry, kidnapping and terrorism.
The directive, the government said, is part of an intensified effort to rid the North West of the menace of banditry, kidnapping and terrorism.
Matawalle said that while in the North West, they would supervise operations and ensure that Bello Turji and his Bandits gang were flushed out.