By Valentine Amanze, Online Editor
The Nigerian bandit kingpin, who led the abduction of about 500 students of Government Science Secondary School Kankara, Zamfara State, last December, Awwalun Daudawa, has been killed by a rival gang in Dumburum forest.
He died in armed clashes days after reneging on an amnesty deal with the Zamfara State government.
Though the Nigerian Police authority is yet to make an official statement, a source from Zamfara State government confirmed Daudawa’s death to AFP.
“Daudawa was killed along with four of his commanders Friday afternoon during a gun fight with a rival gang in Dumburum forest on the border with Katsina State.
“He led his men on a revenge mission to avenge the death of two of his men by the rival gang during a failed raid on one of his camps last month,” a Zamfara government official said.
“Daudawa has been killed along with his four commanders during fighting with the men of rival bandits,” another source with deep knowledge on the activities of bandits also confirmed to AFP.
“He was ambushed and gunned down while trying to take away the herd of the rival gang,” said the source.
In February Daudawa along with six comrades surrendered to Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, in his office where he handed over weapons, saying he had renounced crime, as part of the amnesty to bandits to end the cycle of violence.
It was however gathered that Daudawa only tricked the government by surrendering
only a fraction of his weapons, while maintaining contact with his gangs in the forest.
Last month, Daudawa left his lodging in Zamfara State capital, Gusau, on the pretext of meeting some criminal gangs to convince them to accept a government amnesty offer and release some hostages, according to an official.
It was not clear what impact the death of Daudawa would have on the deadly violence cattle thieves and kidnappers have unleashed in northwestern Nigeria.
Daudawa, 43, was an armed robber and a cattle rustler before he added gun-running and kidnapping for ransom to his criminal portfolio.
He was known to have ties with Boko Haram jihadists and acted as their gunrunner, selling weapons they seize from Nigerian security personnel in the northeast to bandits in the northwest.
