Kachalla Gudau, a dreaded Bandits leader, who commanded a large number of foot soldiers wreaking havoc in Chikun, Kachia and Kajuru local council areas of Kaduna State has reportedly been gunned down by Nigerian troops.
The bandit kingpin was killed while leading his men in a failed attack on a military base occupied by operatives of the Nigerian Army in Kankomi.
Gudau’s atrocities include playing leading roles in the joint kidnappings of students and expatriates in Kajuru, Chikun and Kachia councils. He was also notorious for slaughtering locals who resisted abduction.
He was also engaged in coordinated attacks on herders’ settlements, disposing them of livestock, which made him the illegal possessor of large herds of cattle. These, he regularly traded for amounts running into millions of naira.
Apart from kidnapping and cattle rustling, Gudau was into drug trafficking as he made deals for illicit drugs and the acquisition of sophisticated arms and ammunition.
According to Kaduna State Government, the high point of his cattle rustling spree came in the first and second quarters of 2022, wherein Kajuru LGA alone, Gudau and his partners rustled 1,600 and 3, 332 cattle respectively. The government added that a total of 4,932 cows were stolen in the first six months of 2022.
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Gudau’s cattle rustling in Kajuru LGA particularly began to decline due to sustained onslaughts by security forces, a development that triggered the failed attack on the military base where he met his waterloo.
Samuel Aruwan, Kaduna State Commissioner, for Internal Security and Home Affairs, who confirmed the incident in a statement, said Gudau was among the bandits neutralized by troops of the Nigerian Army on Sunday, at Kankomi in Kaduna State.
“Diligent exploitation of human intelligence networks corroborated other pieces of available intelligence, which confirmed that Gudau was indeed one of those felled by the bullets of the courageous troops as they repelled an attack led by the notorious bandit himself, ending his ignoble reign of brutality and evil,” he said. “The identity of another of the neutralized bandits whose remains were found by the troops has been confirmed as ‘Rigimamme’ one of Gudau’s trusted criminal aides.”
