At least 30 suspected armed bandits associated with a notorious kingpin named Dan Rani were eliminated in a deadly ambush conducted by local vigilante groups, commonly known as Yansakai, near Dansadau town in the Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Abeni Aso-OkeThe incident, which took place on Friday, April 4, around 2:00 p.m., was confirmed by security analyst and counter-insurgency specialist, Zagazola Makama, in a post on his X account on Sunday.
As per intelligence sources referenced by Makama, the bandits were reportedly on their way to carry out an attack on a nearby village when they fell into a trap set by the vigilantes at the outskirts of Dansadau. A fierce gunfight broke out, leading to the deaths of over two dozen of the attackers.
Sixteen motorcycles, believed to belong to the gunmen, were retrieved from the ambush site.
Abeni Aso-OkeIn a separate but connected incident, the remains of a local Community Protection Guard (CPG) member, Ashiru Dawa, were found in the early hours of Friday near the Gidan Kano area. Dawa, who had previously been kidnapped by suspected bandits, was discovered dead in the bush around 6:00 a.m.
His body was transported to a nearby hospital for a post-mortem examination before being returned to his family for burial according to Islamic customs.
This recent occurrence comes amid increasing efforts by local vigilantes and security agencies to combat the issue of rural banditry that has affected communities across Zamfara and other regions in the North-West.
