Seventeen villagers from six communities have been ordered by Kachalla Bello Kaura, a notorious bandit kingpin in Zamfara State, operating from Sunke camp, Bagega, in Anka Local Government Area of the state to work on his farm or face attacks by his men.
It was learnt that Kaura took over the leadership of the deadly terrorist group after the military neutralised its former leader, Alhaji Shadari.
Shadari and some of his gang members were reportedly killed in January 2023 when their Sunke camp came under fire from the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji.
Alhaji Shadari was on the list of 19 terrorists declared wanted by the Nigerian Army.
According to one Usman Aminu from Kawaye village, some members of his community were among those forced to work on the bandit’s farm on May 6 and 7, preparing the farm for the planting of new crops.
“Kachalla Bello Kaura sent one of his men to our village head, asking us to work on his farm. We could not refuse his orders because there is nobody to prevent the deadly group from attacking us,” he said.
The communities affected by the order include Makakari, Tsunke, Duhuwa, and Kersa, all in the Bagega district in Anka LGA.
Other villages in the axis were not mentioned in the order because they had reportedly sent delegations to the bandits’ camp to acknowledge the change in leadership and show their allegiance.
Another villager, Dangaladima Mohammed from Tangaran, said his village and neighbouring communities were not affected by the latest order. According to him, what saved them was that over 27 villages in Bagega Ward went and paid homage to the new leader, signifying that the villages would not be attacked.
At the time of filing this report, there has not been any official statement, either from security agencies or the state government, to deny or confirm the report.
Affected villagers lamented the absence of military operatives and security agencies in the area, saying that they come around after bandits attack villages.
