Repentant bandit leads others to kill ex-colleagues, free dozens of kidnapped victims; police takes credit

Smally might have repented of his banditry in Kaura Namoda Local Government Area of Zamfara; he has not lost his chops as a fighter.

So when he got really fed up with the unrepentant bandits and their atrocities across state, the Zamfaran, who many refer to as Smally, headed back to the jungle.

It was some kind of epic battle in which the former bandit and his handful of men took on the terrorists in the Dajin Yama forest, according to locals.

“The repentant bandit first killed some of the bandits and freed 16 kidnapped victims and took them to a nearby bush around Sakajiki village from where they were evacuated by security operatives,” a witness was quoted by the Daily Post

“After some times, another 22 were also freed and brought out to the same spot and also evacuated by security operatives and moved to Gusau”

The state police ommand announced the release of 39 kidnapped victims on Monday, leaving out the details.

But some residents of Kaura Namoda Local Government Area insisted the kidnapped victims were released by Smally and his group and not any security operative in the state.

“The axis had been in total control of the recalcitrant bandits before Smally and his group courageously confronted the deadly terrorists in their enclaves and neutralized scores of them while others escaped with various degrees of injuries,” another resident said.