By Our Correspondent
There is apprehension in Zamfara State and other states in the North West zone over the killing of a suspected notorious bandit, Buhari Tsoho, aka Buharin Daji.
Daji has been linked with various crimes and killings in Zamfara.
The initial celebration that greeted his death has subsided due to fears that the incident could trigger retaliation by his armed supporters, who have threatened to attack Dogo Gide, the public face of the murder, a�?and all those connected with ita�?.
Buhari Tsoho, the kidnap and cattle rustling kingpin, was killed on March 7, 2018, by Dogo Gide (his second in command) in a mountainous forest of Nabango, Birnin Gwari, Zamfara State.
Dogo Gide has been assisting security agents in clearing all enclaves of cattle rustlers and gunmen on the killings in Zamfara, Kaduna and Katsina states.
Before his death, Daji invaded the Fulani settlement of Katsinawa in Zamfara and rustled cattle belonging to Gidea��s father in-law. Since Gide supports the government, he called for truce but Daji ignored him.
At last Daji showed up for a truce meeting in Nabango, where Gide allegedly opened fire on him and his six commanders.
When he visited the State last week Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the security agencies to get more information on Daji and arrest all members of his gang.
The rustling of the cattle belonging to Dogo’s father in-law was the alibi the government needed to move against Daji.
Sources told THE AUTHORITY that the notorious bandita��s corpse was taken to the Government House, Gusau as the state government wanted “concrete assurance and evidence” that “Dogo and the security forces” fulfilled their part in the killing of Daji.
The source said that the involvement of the security forces in killing Daji was because of how the bandit made Zamfara unsafe and brought them into disrepute through his nefarious activities of kidnapping, banditry and cattle rustling. They have been under pressure to deliver by the state government, considering the resources the government claims to be spending on them.
The source added that the security forces were contented with allowing Dogo, the former second in-command of Daji, to take the credit for the extra judicial murder due to fears of possible International Criminal Court (ICC) of Justice indictment.
Some military officers are currently under ICC investigation over the killing of members of the Shia��ite movement in Kaduna State in which over 900 allegedly died.
The Zamfara State government claimed it had spent N14.9 billion in the last six years, an average of N3 billion a year, excluding the cost of over 427 operational vehicles purchased for the security agencies.
Confronted by the people of the state on the expenditure vis-A�-vis the worsening security situation in Zamfara, Governor Abdulziz Yari said that “people should learn to respect their leaders and what they say and ask for clarification on what they do not know”.
Governor Yari insisted on the refund of the security vote from the Federal Government, though there were no indications that he sought and received the permission of the federal authorities before incurring the whooping amount even as the results were not tangible.
Sources said that Daji resorted to banditry following unfulfilled promises by politicians who previously hired him for “electoral services.”
In 2016, efforts were made to pacify him as talks were led by the Deputy Governor of Zamfara State, Mallam Ibrahim Wakkala. But neither the state government nor Daji spoke on why the talks collapsed.
The allegation is that the state government reneged on the financial package promised him. Another account had it that some of the officials involved in the financial package short-changed him. Daji was to return with vehemence especially around the Maru-Anka, Bungudu-Tsafe axis of the state.
Because of the threat posed by followers of Daji, questions are being asked if the security forces were in a position to have arrested him, having previously arrested Dogon Bangaje, his second-in-command.
Already, gunmen loyal to the notorious bandit last Tuesday night killed 12 soldiers in Kampanin Doka in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The soldiers were said to be among a detachment of troops deployed to the village to ensure security for expatriates and others working on a new road linking Zamfara State with Kaduna through Dansadau-Dangulbi and Birnin Gwari.
Last year, one of the foreign engineers working at the site was kidnapped by unknown gunmen and later released.
It was learnt that after the incident, the workers, including the expatriates, were said to have fled the site. They were said to have returned to the site following the deployment of soldiers for their security.
A source said that the bandits attacked the soldiersa�� camp between 8p.m. and 9p.m. on Tuesday, killing 12 soldiers.
a�?We gathered that the soldiers had caught a thief in a village called Maganda in the area and were taking him back to their camp when some personnel of the Nigerian Police Force asked them to hand over the thief to them which the soldiers refused.
The same police, it was learnt, followed the soldiers to their camp in Kampanin Doka and again asked them to hand over the thief to them, but the soldiers still refused.
Around 8p.m. on Tuesday, bandits attacked the soldiersa�� camp and killed three soldiers in a hole and nine others in a tent in the camp,a�? the source said.
He called on the state government to find a way of tackling the rampaging activities of bandits in the area, lamenting that it was unfortunate that a�?the government has not deemed it fit to declare the bandits as terrorists and are still describing the attacks as farmer-herdsmen conflict.
a�?This is not the case. In fact, now there are no cows in the area because of banditry,a�? the source stated.
However, when contacted to confirm the incident, the spokesman of the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, Col. Mohammed Dole, who did not confirm the incident, said a statement would soon be issued.
Anxiety in Zamfara over killing of notorious bandit, Buharin Daji
