Residents Hail Military For Neutralising Bandits Terrorising Kaduna Communities

Residents of Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State have hailed the military and the Kaduna State Government following a sustained security offensive that reportedly led to the neutralisation of over 70 bandits and the destruction of several criminal hideouts across the area.

Community leaders said the military operation, carried out in recent days, targeted long-established bandit enclaves located within forested areas around Kauru, which had served as launch pads for attacks, kidnappings and killings across the local government.

According to the residents, among the notorious camps dislodged during the operation were Rafin Gora Camp, Agwala Camp, Ruwan Sanyi and Randa, which they described as major strongholds used by armed groups to terrorise surrounding communities for years.

The operation was led by the Commandant of the 2 National Mission Force Brigade, Samaru Kataf, Navy Captain I.T. Akaazua, under whose leadership troops carried out coordinated ground assaults on the identified bandit enclaves.

During the offensive, several abducted victims were rescued alive by the troops. The rescued persons were identified as Mr Barnabas Zakaria and Mr Hosea Barnabas, both from Doka in Kajuru Local Government Area; as well as Haruna Ummar, Timothy Musa, Hasat Ummar and Balkisu Ummar, all from Kauru Local Government Area.

Speaking with journalists, the community leaders, Alhaji Tukur Kadage, Chairman of the Joint Security Committee of Dokan Karji and Kwassam communities; Mr Barnabas Musa of Chawai Chiefdom; and Hon. Aminu Khalid, Youth Leader of Dokan Karji community, praised the military for what they described as a decisive intervention that has significantly weakened bandit networks in the area.

Musa commended the ongoing military onslaught against bandits operating in the Kauru and Kumana Chiefdoms, while appealing for the continued operation and its extension to parts of the Chawai Chiefdom, especially the Rahman Chawai and Badurum axis, where communities, he said, continue to face serious security challenges.

The community leaders recalled that Kauru Local Government Area, located in Southern Kaduna, has suffered persistent insecurity since 2010, beginning with an attack on the Kizachi community in Chawai Chiefdom, where eight persons were killed.

They said the attacks initially remained concentrated in Chawai Chiefdom but later escalated and spread to Kumana Chiefdom and parts of the Kauru Emirate by late 2015, resulting in widespread killings, kidnappings and the displacement of residents.