The middle-aged bandit coordinated the mass abduction of the students of Government Secondary School Kankara, on December 12, 2020, the first of such abduction by any criminal group outside Boko Haram in the North-East.
About two months later, Daudawa was paraded before the governor in Gusau, where he proclaimed his decision to be a changed man.
Daudawa and five of his lieutenants surrendered 20 AK 47 rifles, ammunition and a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher, during the ceremony.
Sources familiar with Daudawa’s latest decision told our reporter that he packed out his family and his lieutenants back to Jaja forest in Zurmi Local Government on Monday.
Notorious Kidnapper Responsible For Kankara Abduction Abandons Governor Matawalle s Amnesty Programme, Picks Up Arms Again
A security source and two other sources close to the bandit confirmed that Daudawa had relocated to one of the forests close to the border with Katsina.
by SaharaReporters, New York
Apr 29, 2021
Auwal Daudawa, a notorious bandit in Zamfara State, known as the mastermind of the abduction of over 300 schoolboys from Kankara in Katsina State, has abandoned the Amnesty programme of Governor Ballo Matawalle and returned to the forest to pick up arms.
He had only recently embraced the Amnesty programme and celebrated by the government of Matawalle in Zamfara.
Credible sources at the Zamfara Government House informed Daily Trust that Daudawa was the one who led dozens of gunmen who snatched 340 students from their hostels of Government Secondary School Kankara, in December, which sparked global outrage.
The repentant bandit was leading a gang of bandits with a base in Dumburum Forest in Zurmi Local Government Area of the state operating in Zurmi-Gidan Jaja and Jibia axes.
He said he believed many of the other armed men in Zamfara forests would soon follow suit, adding that they were looking for an opportunity to surrender their arms.
He explained that, “As armed bandits, we are being harassed by the local vigilante groups known as Yan Sakai and sometimes the security operatives. This harassment is what is prompting us to take up arms, and applying force will never stop the attacks.
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The mention of his name scared anyone familiar with his reign of terror. Terwase Akwaza, well known as Gana, was a warlord who matched security agencies with force. With gang members spread across Benue and Taraba states, Gana’s horror was grimly etched in many homes of his victims.
Until he met his Waterloo at the hands of the military in September 2020, Gana-led gangs ran riot on several highways within the two states, kidnapping and maiming travellers at will.
He started out as a fighter for politicians but later formed a gang that specialised in kidnapping, armed robbery and assassination after they dumped him. His gang became more vicious later and had a field day on the major routes within the Sankera region comprising Katsina Ala, Logo and Ukum.
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The Zamfara State government has insisted that dialogue with bandits is still the best option in fighting banditry and other crimes as it is yielding positive results in the state.
Addressing newsmen on Wednesday evening, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Bala Bello Maru, shortly after the state executive council meeting held at Government House Gusau, said kinetic and non-kinetic approach would be maintained to solve issues of banditry in the state.
Maru said in view of the successes through the use of dialogue with bandits, the state government will keep using the option in its bid to end banditry in the state.