How notorious bandits’ leader, Dogo Giɗe, was neutralised by troops

How notorious bandits’ leader, Dogo Giɗe, was neutralised by troops

Anchored by Ahmad Ayuba

After years of rampaging, acts of kidnapping, and wanton killings, one of the most notorious leaders of bandits in the North West region of Nigeria, Dogo Gide, has been reportedly neutralised by troops engaged in the anti kidnapping and anti banditry campaign in the region.

Reliable sources of information within security agencies confirmed that Dogo Gide was fatally wounded in an encounter with troops of the Operation Hadarin Daji, OPHD, in Shiroro , Niger state. He reportedly died last Tuesday as a result of the wounds in Sokoto where he was said to have gone for medical treatment.

While he lasted, Dogo Gide was said to be responsible for the kidnapping and death of thousands of innocent villagers and the displacement of even larger numbers in the course of his gang’s pillaging and large-scale destruction of communities and homesteads in the northwest and the North Central state of Niger.

Dogo Gide and his men were also said to have carried out the June 2021 abduction of over one hundred pupils and five teachers of the Federal Government College, FGC, Birnin Yauri, kebbi state. He was as well, widely reported to be responsible for the 2023 shooting down of a military helicopter of the Nigeria Air Force in Niger state.

READ ALSO: Bandit kingpin Dogo Gide injured as troops kill 3 terrorists, destroy hideouts

Even though Gide has not been directly linked to the recent kidnapping of the over one hundred and fifty pupils in Kuriga, Kaduna state, the banditry kingpin was however, reported to have been involved in the process of negotiation that led to the release of the children from captivity.

Before he was finally eliminated, the audacious and ruthless bandit had had several brushes with death as a result of his many confrontations with security agencies. On 30th October, 2023 for instance, he was said to have narrowly escaped death and capture following a fierce battle with troops who, in a surprise operation, had stormed his stronghold in Zamfara state.

At the end of the operation at his Yau Sarkin Pawa residence in Zamfara state, items recovered by troops included, a tailoring factory for sewing various military and other security agencies’ uniforms, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), a mini pharmacy suspected to be used for the treatment of wounded members of his gang.

The Reliance Specialist Hospital, Mabera, Sokoto, has distanced itself from the widely circulated reports that Dogo Gide was admitted and died while receiving medical care in its facility. That may have thrown a shade of contradictions in the accounts of his last days.

What appears incontrovertible however, is that, the Dansadau, Zamfara-born terrorist, will never walk on the surface of this planet again. The fact of his demise has been confirmed by the many witnesses to his burial on Wednesday, 27th March 2024, at the Dandalla village, Zamfara state.