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Last week, news filtered in that a notorious cattle rustling kingpin, known as Buharin Daji, was killed by one of his former allies, identified as Dogo Gide.
Buharin Daji was said to be the mastermind of many horrific crimes in Zamfara State. He was a fearless and brutal character who had a large number of armed bandits and cattle rustlers loyal to him.
In 2016, the state government had engaged him in a peace talk. He agreed to cease hostilities but later reneged on his promise. He was believed to be the brain behind the renewed attacks in the state.
Sources told Daily Trust on Sunday that Dogo Gide was one of Buharin Daji’s associates before they parted ways after the former decided to embrace peace and renounce armed banditry.
Reports indicated that Dogo Gide was from Dansadau district, even though no one was able to specifically tell his hometown or village. It is said that he is a young man married with children.
A resident who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity because of the dangerous nature of the matter, said for anyone willing to live in Zamfara forest and rear his cattle peacefully, he or someone from his family must be a member of the cattle rustling cartel in the state.
“Being a member of the group or having a representative there is the only thing that will guarantee your safety and that of your cattle, even if you are a Fulani man. That is why you will see a herder living in the forest unperturbed,” he added.
Our correspondent gathered that the relationship between Dogo Gide and Buharin Daji went sour after the former renounced armed banditry. This, according to our source, did not go down well with Buharin Daji, who raided Gide’s in-laws settlement and rustled their cattle. This development angered the latter and he asked Buharin Daji to release the cattle.
But Buharin Daji remained adamant to all entreaties from Dogo Gide. In fact, he bluntly told Gide that the cattle were shared among his boys.
Angered by the development, Gide plotted to kill Buharin Daji; so he called for a meeting from the two camps to ‘amicably resolve the matter.’
How Buharin Daji was killed
Having perfected his plan, Dogo Gide had warned his boys against disclosing it to anyone. According to our source, “When they arrived in the forest for the meeting, Buharin Daji saw a pistol with Dogo Gide and asked if he could help supply to his boys. At this point, Dogo Gide went closer to Buharin Daji and suddenly fired shots at his neck and chest.’’
It was also said that Dogo Gide’s boys started firing at their targets and killed about 24 of Buharin Daji’s associates and left.
Some of Buharin Daji’s boys who escaped the onslaught tried hard to take away the corpse of their master, but they could not as Dogo Gide intensified action.
“I think Dogo Gide knows Buharin Daji very well; that’s why he avoided direct confrontation with him. It is believed that Buharin Daji had some mystical powers that helped him to fight his enemies. He had killed dozens of repentant bandits, some of whose skeletons were found inside the forest when security operatives went to take his corpse,’’ our source said.
He further alleged that Dogo Gide had a relationship with security operatives; though not directly but through some members of the local vigilante group.
“That was why he sent some of his boys to help the security operatives locate the actual corpse of Buharin Daji, deep inside the forest. Many people are of the opinion that the security operatives are using the repentant bandits to deal with the deviant ones,’’ he further said.
A resident, Ali Hassan, said some days after Buharin Daji was killed, some of Dogo Gide’s boys passed through a forest. When residents of Madaka, Gajeren Kauye and Karauchi saw them, they started fleeing the communities.
“But Dogo Gide told them to stop running away. He assured them of safety. He said they should not panic as no one would be killed. This helped in calming the residents down. Perhaps, the end of the carnage being perpetrated by armed bandits is near.
“You know, for quite a long time, communities in those areas have been subjected to trauma. People could not go to their farms with ease as dozens of residents were killed,’’ Hassan said.
