Bandits Raid Nigerian Village, Kill 36 in Total

Nigerian Bandits (Source: WikiCommons)

The town of Dan Umaru in Nigerian faced a severe Bandit attack on April 30th 2023. An unknown number of Bandits raided the village in the early morning, killing thirty civilians, six police officers and kidnapped around a dozen people. On top of the attacks, hunderds of cattle were stolen in attacks on nearby villages. The Nigerian Government has not made any official statement as off yet. (Naija Security Focus, 2023) The Bandit issue is a common one in Nigeria. The term Bandit is a balnket term for a pletheora of criminal and terrorist groups. These Bandit gangs have been active throughout Nigeria since 2011, with some controlling illegal arms trading operations and others capturing industrial sites, such as gold mines. Some of the larger bandit forces were jihadist terrorists from groups such as Boko Haram, Ansaru and Islamic State of the West African Province. Others are smaller groups controlled by local crime bosses/warlords. It is uknown what Bandit group comiited the attack, no terror organisation has taken credit for the attack, menaing it was most likely done by an unaffiliated bandit gang. One gang, it could possibly be, is th one led by a man named Dogo Gide. Gide's gang has previously carried large scale operations in the state of Kibbi. In one insance in 2021, the Dogo Gide Bandits kidnapped students from the Federal Government College. His gang is one of the largest kidnapping-for-ransom gangs in Nigeria. (Maishanu and Babangida, 2022) Gide is also belived to be linked with the logitcal side of Boko Haram, with Gide's gang believed to be supply the terror group with weapons. His group has previiously carried out mass cattle rustling, killing and kidnappings. 

Reference list

Maishanu, A.A. and Babangida, M. (2022). Inside criminal enterprise of Dogo Gide, Ali Kachalla, suspected masterminds of Kaduna train attack. [online] Premiumtimesng.com. Available at: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/524583-inside-criminal-enterprise-of-dogo-gide-ali-kachalla-suspected-masterminds-of-kaduna-train-attack.html?tztc=1 [Accessed 7 May 2023].

Security Focus. (2023). Bandits Storm Kebbi, Kil Six Policemen, 30 Villagers. [online] Available at: https://securityfocus.ng/2023/05/01/bandits-storm-kebbi-kill-six-policemen-30-villagers [Accessed 7 May 2023].