How wanted terrorist kingpin, Dogo Gide, narrowly escaped death

…Wounded in many parts of the body in Monday battle
…Residence burnt
…Tailoring factory, charms, fake Army uniforms, others razed
…Brave residents of Sokoto rural communities fight back, kill bandits in self defence

BY SHAFA’ATU SULEIMAN

Notorious terrorist, Dogo Gide, escaped death or, at least, capture by the whiskers on Monday following a fierce battle with troops of Operation Hadarin Daji (OPHD) when they stormed his strongholds in Zamfara and Kebbi States in a surprise operation.

Gide, one of Nigeria’s most wanted bandits, is responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent villagers and displacement of even more in the far North of the country.

His shifting operational headquarters rotate among States in the North West, especially Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi and even Katsina.

He managed to bolt after a military operation targeted his enclaves at Dansadau, Mai Tukunya and Babban Doka villages in Zamfara state.

A military source told The Daily Times, which was embedded in the operation, that the kingpin sustained serious gunshot injuries.

”He was hit in various parts of his body. Bleeding profusely, he escaped by the skin of his teeth,” the source said.

”Apparently, he was not expecting the Nigerian Army in his fortress. But we are the formidable Nigerian Army, and we can go anywhere we want. It was a tough battle. He and his extremely violent foot soldiers put up stiff resistance, but in the end, we are the Nigerian Army –and we overcame them.

”He was bleeding with gunshot wounds in several parts of his body. He narrowly escaped into the bushes and forests, but I doubt he will survive the wounds, except by some trick of fate,” The Daily Times was told.

Sources further said that the troops breached Gide’s Yau Sarkin Pawa residence, searched the house and destroyed it.

“The feat was achieved on 30th October, 2023, when the Special Forces troops of OPHD conducted a fighting patrol following credible information received on terrorist activities at Sangeko forest in Kebbi state where the troops promptly responded and engaged the terrorists in an intense firefight,” the sources added.

When the dust cleared, items recovered included tailoring factory for sewing various military and other security agencies’ uniforms which Gide’s soldiers wear to deceive potential kidnap victims into thinking that they were genuine military officers; Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs); a mini pharmacy suspected to be used for treatment of wounded terrorists; five operational motorcycles and sewing machines, among others.

These were set ablaze instantly by the Special Forces personnel.

The troops further advanced against more bandits and cleared Malele, Mutunji, Kwana, Kamatso, Kememe, Kango villages of their presence and influence.

The storming of Gide’s fortress was the highlight of a week-long fierce resistance by residents against frequent armed bandits’ attacks on communities within Tangaza Local Government Area (LGA) of Sokoto State and nearby Kebbi State.

In Tukandu village of Tangaza LGA, residents and others in surrounding communities had suffered wave after wave of attacks by armed bandits, leading them to take their destinies in their own hands and in one such incident, successfully repelled an attempted reprisal attack by the bandits.

The Daily Times correspondent in Sokoto, who visited the affected community, was told how the week-long counter-attacks between residents and the terrorists were later quenched after military intervention.

A source in Tukandu, who was privy to the attacks, told The Daily Times how residents boldly resisted an attempt to kidnap scores of their people by the armed bandits.

He explained that the bandits had stormed the community and kidnapped no fewer than seven people but met with stiff resistance by residents who fought back.

In the process, the residents killed one of the bandits and wounded few others who quickly fled the community, leaving their dead behind.

A local who spoke to The Daily Times recounted how his relatives were among those who were kidnapped by the rampaging bandits.

His words: “The incident happened on the 24th October, 2023. My brother, two wives and a daughter were among those who were kidnapped on that day. But we fought them back and even killed one of their leaders.

“We saw local charms all over his lifeless body and two phones were recovered from him. We alerted the military when we realized they (bandits) were planning to come and retrieve the dead body of their leader.

“The next day the bandits came back again to pick the corpse, not knowing that the Army was aware of their coming and had laid an ambush. Subsequently, three bandits were killed and one other was arrested with gunshot wound.”

A commercial motorcyclist, Nuhu Tangaza, however, told the Daily Times that he witnessed no fewer than 15 bodies of the armed bandits killed by the military while about three casualties were recorded on the part of the villagers.

READ ALSO: Governor Obaseki denies his deputy statutory official.

A victim, Mallam Jika from Sakkwai village, who was taking refuge in Gongono village after terrorists’ attacks recently, said there were more than 10,000 persons from Sakkwai in the local Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp alongside an estimated 5,000 from Yola village, and about 8,000 from Tukandu.

Such was the extent of dislocation caused by the murderous activities of the terrorists, he noted.

Jika said: “We don’t want anything from the government other than security. Let there be security so that we can go back to our land. We will be happier staying in our villages.”

For more news update follow us on www.dailytimesng.com