Troops of the Nigerian Army have killed Halilu Buzu, a bandit kingpin who had been leading the charge in terrorising Zamfara State communities.

Zamfara has been one of the hardest hit by banditry in the northwest of Nigeria, with some bandits recently seen on TikTok brazenly displaying arms, ammunition and wads of cash received from their victims’ loved ones.

Bello Matawalle, the minister of state for defence, recently shifted his base to Sokoto State, one of the states in the region, because of the increasing attacks.

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According to Zagazola, a counter-insurgency expert, Halilu recorded a video on Thursday imploring Bello Turji, also a notorious terrorist, and his gunmen to concentrate their energy on security operatives and cease attacking harmless civilians.

“Kachallah Buzu made a video yesterday, calling on Turji, Dankarami, Dogo Gide and others to stop killing poor people and instead focus their fight against the military,” Zagazola tweeted. “He is the boss of Bello Turji.”

“Now, he has been killed by the same military in less than 24 hours.”

He was declared wanted in May by the Defence Headquarters following the killing of 19 people in Zamfara. The military said he was a major arms dealer who hailed from Niger Republic.

These bandits have been unleashing terror on civilians and engaging the military in fatal gunfights recently.

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FIJ had earlier reported how some bandits killed five policemen and three soldiers on Thursday morning in the same state.

These slain officers ran out of ammunition while engaging their attackers, making them highly vulnerable during the encounter.