Months after being granted amnesty by the Zamfara State government, the leader of a banditry gang, Auwalu Daudawa, has been reportedly killed by a rival gang.
Daudawa was reportedly ambushed and killed on Friday while attempting to steal a herd of cattle from a rival banditry group in Zamfara State, Agence France-Presse reported.
Daudawa and his gang were reported to be behind the abduction of over 300 schoolboys in Kankara, Katsina State last December.
He was granted amnesty in February after he reportedly surrendered his weapons but allegedly returned to his gang last week.
On Friday, Daudawa and four other members of his gang were said to have been fatally shot in an exchange of fire in a forest near the border with Katsina.
“He (Daudawa) led his men on a revenge mission to avenge the death of two of his men by the rival gang during a failed raid on one of his camps last month,” an official told AFP.
The Special Adviser to the Zamfara State Governor on Media and Communication, Zailani Bappa, did not take or return repeated calls to his mobile line on Saturday.
However, in a recent interview, Bappa said Daudawa and his gang had fully embraced the peace dialogue of the state government.
“All his (Daudawa’s) boys also surrendered themselves and their weapons. He is with us and wants to go back to school. The state government will assist him in his education. This is what amnesty for repentant bandits can achieve,” Bappa said.
Meanwhile, Daudawa’s return to crime before his death is likely to reignite the debate on whether amnesty should be granted to criminal gangs.
