The Zamfara State Community Protection Guards, also known as Askarawan Zamfara, have arrested nine suspects allegedly linked to banditry and other criminal activities across the state.
The suspects were paraded in Gusau on Wednesday by the commandant of the Community Protection Guards, retired AIG Shehu Dalijan, following intelligence-driven operations conducted in different parts of Zamfara.
Those arrested allegedly include suspected bandits, informants, logistics suppliers, drug dealers and a man accused of impersonating a lawyer.
One of the suspects, 20-year-old Abubakar Malan Ori, reportedly admitted spending several months in the camp of notorious bandit leader Kachalla Gwaska.
According to the guards, Ori was involved in criminal activities across Zamfara, Kaduna and Niger states, as well as the Niger Republic. He reportedly disclosed that more than N226 million was collected as ransom from several kidnapping operations.
The guards also arrested Ibrahim Mafindi Titus, whom they described as a suspected bandit doctor. He was accused of treating injured members of criminal groups with medical supplies allegedly sourced from outside Nigeria.
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Two other suspects, Mamman Haruna and Aliyu Lawali, were accused of providing information linked to cattle rustling and attacks allegedly carried out alongside notorious bandit leaders.
Another suspect, Mustapha Muhammed, was accused of posing as a legal practitioner and allegedly collecting money from a detainee’s relative outside the Community Protection Guards headquarters.
The command said the arrests followed information obtained from individuals operating within different criminal camps as security efforts against banditry intensify in the state.
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