Mastermind Of Kankara Boys’ Kidnap Gives Reasons For Repentance

Auwalu Daudawa, the bandits’ leader behind the abduction of schoolboys in Kankara, Katsina State, said he agreed to surrender his guns to authorities after he learnt that armed banditry was fruitless and meaningless.

Daudawa spoke to newsmen on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Zamfara State Police Command in Gusau, the state capital.

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.

“If Yan Sakai continue to carry out extra judicial executions of Fulani in marketplaces or in their settlements, there won’t be peace, and I’m telling you this from the bottom of my heart. But we thank Almighty Allah for guiding us to the right path.”