Terror kingpin Dogo Gide has, in the past two weeks, launched several attacks on communities in Shiroro and Rafi local government areas of Niger State, killing and abducting scores, sources in the affected areas have confirmed.
The terrorist and his gang of well-armed marauders have also recently gained the upper hand during a firefight with a rival gang of Boko Haram terrorists, during which they carted away high-grade weapons and improvised explosive devices in Kwaki, Ajata Aboki, and Ajatayi in Shiroro local government, killing several Boko Haram members, a source familiar with terrorist activities in the area has revealed.
Dogo Gide, notorious for rural banditry, is from the Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State. He recently relocated to Palali, his birthplace in Shiroro Local Government Area, after the Nigerian Air Force bombed his abode at Rigizan Mai Lamba in Tsafe. His mother and other siblings are still in Palali, but the bandit kingpin operates in the mountainous areas of Kwaki, moving between Shiroro, Rafi, and Munya, clashing with and displacing other terror gangs in an effort to establish a new stronghold.
On Wednesday last week, residents of Pandogari in Rafi LGA panicked when reports indicated that the terror group had invaded the area, abducting about forty people and killing five. This daring attack occurred after Dogo Gide had taken several others from villages around Erena.
Getting information on terrorist activities in these villages is often difficult because many people have deserted the area and sought refuge in IDP camps, leaving vast farmlands and human settlements under the control of bandits, who allow only the mining of precious stones in exchange for money and weapons.
In Allawa, Kurebe, Kabama, Bassa, Musuku, Sabon Gida, Kawure, Palali, Mai Kanwa, Gurmana, Kabula, Gini, Kuchi, Dangunu, Mangoro, Ukale, Kachiwe, and Zazzaga, once bustling farming communities in Shiroro and Munya, residents have fled due to years of horrific terrorist attacks and displacement.
Although some villages like Kukoki, Manta, Kwaki, Chibani, Erena, Chukuba, Madaka, Kawun Malawai, Kadaga, Daza, Fuka, Dandaudu, Zumba, and a few others in Shiroro, Munya, and Rafi LGAs are now inhabited by returnees who previously fled during the height of the insurgency, many of them remain concentrated in the central parts of their communities, leaving large farmlands abandoned for fear of further attacks.
Ibrahim Caleb, a community leader in Chibani, a sleepy settlement along Sarkin Pawa road, said villagers were in palpable fear upon learning that the notorious bandit leader Dogo Gide, who had been dislodged from Zamfara State, was now engaged in battles with other terrorist cells for territorial control in Shiroro, Munya, and Rafi.
"The security agencies should have tracked him here and finished the job. Allowing him to establish another stronghold is unacceptable," he bemoaned.
Caleb said the relative quiet being experienced was not because the terrorists had been defeated but because they were currently fighting among themselves for dominance.
He explained further, "Some people believe something happened, which is why there haven't been reports of attacks on civilians as frequently as before. Some are even giving credit to the present administration for taking action.
"Let me tell you, they haven’t done much. People were displaced, and many others have deserted their ancestral homes out of fear. That’s why you don’t hear as many reports of civilian casualties. Secondly, there is intense fighting between different terrorist gangs trying to seize control of territory.
"The recent bomb explosions in Bassa, where some farmers stepped on landmines, were a result of terrorists planting explosives against one another in their battle for dominance," he said.
A source familiar with bandit operations, who gathers information from a network of informants and requested anonymity, said the recent negotiations between the Kaduna State government and bandits might worsen the situation in Niger State, as many smaller groups in search of loot for survival may cross into the state. He urged the state government to monitor the situation closely and act swiftly.
The source also questioned why, despite many areas being under bandit control and deserted by civilians, mining activities continued unhindered.
A Radio France International (RFI) report indicated that the ongoing battle between Dogo Gide and other terrorist cells was for control of mining sites, which the bandit leader sought to secure as a supply route. The abundance of gold and other precious minerals in Shiroro, Munya, and Rafi has attracted various terror groups.
Gold, lithium, and other mineral mining have fuelled banditry in northern Nigeria. A study by SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based analytical group, revealed how Chinese companies bribed terrorist groups in some parts of the country to access mining sites.
SBM Intelligence shared its findings with The Times, a British newspaper, providing videos of militant leaders boasting about how powerful they had become, so much so that Chinese miners working in their territories had to pay “rent.”
“These guys are perfectly willing to pay off whoever needs to be paid off and have no qualms about it,” said Ikemesit Effiong, SBM’s head of research.
A report by WikkiTimes, a Bauchi-based investigative online newspaper, detailed how Chinese miners bribed Dogo Gide and other terrorist kingpins to transport precious stones from mining sites in Kurebe to Udawa, a border community between Niger State and Kaduna, and then to Lagos. In the report, villagers accused agents of Chinese mining companies of aiding and abetting banditry.
Yusuf Koki, leader of Concerned Shiroro Youths, responding to enquiries, said the terror leader continued assuring villagers in his newly conquered territories of "protection." However, reports suggested ongoing fighting among terrorist factions for territorial control.
Calls to the Niger State Commissioner for Homeland Security went unanswered. However, according to Yusuf Koki, many villagers remain sceptical of Dogo Gide’s assurances, given how his ISWAP group previously pillaged and displaced them through relentless attacks.
Koki emphasised that the only way to restore normalcy was for the military to decisively engage the terrorists and eliminate them, something he believes is well within the capacity of the Nigerian armed forces.