A clash ensued between terrorists belonging to the Ansaru terrorist group and bandits have reportedly claimed the lives of at least 30 bandits around the Damari axis of Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Northwest Nigeria.
Sources said that the two criminal groups started a battle for supremacy last week over the enforcement of doctrine and territorial control.
Three weeks ago, the Ansaru terrorists’ group, who have been operating in Zamfara State fled the ongoing military operations there and refuge in Saulawa and Damari villages of Birnin Gwari LGA, where they hoisted their flag.
Following telecommunication shutdown in some LGAs of Kaduna, including Birnin Gwari, crisis emerged when the Ansaru terrorists decreed a ceasefire and placed a ban on abduction and invasion of communities.
A resident of the area, Samaila Yakubu told the Abuja-based Daily Trust that the bandits had resisted the law, which led to a wrangle that claimed the lives of four bandits and one member of Ansaru group last Tuesday.
He said a tit-for-tat attack had ensued between the two groups which climaxed with the killing of about 30 bandits last week.
Also corroborating the incident, Hassan Ibrahim from Giwa LGA, said the terrorists had warned bandits to desist from rampant abductions, adding that the warning had not been heeded by the bandits which led to the clash.
Ibrahim said, “The killings between the two groups are ongoing but abductions are on a decline. The focus of the terrorists is now on how to get fuel and money from travellers.
“Two days ago, they ambushed my nephew along the Birnin Gwari- Zaria road on a motorcycle and they emptied his fuel tank.
“They then collected his phone and money he had on him and set him free. I believe the new security measures are working,” he said.
When contacted, Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mohammed Jalige, asked for time to clarify the situation from the DPO in charge of the area but hours later, he did not respond to calls to his phone.
This story first appeared in Daily Trust