LAGOS OCTOBER 22ND (NEWSRNAGERS)-Notorious bandit leader Muhammad Gwaska has displaced residents of Birnin Doki in the troubled Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara State after they resisted pressure to work at mining sites under his control.
The incident, which occurred on 15 October, saw dozens of villagers forced to walk about a 15-kilometre distance from Birnin Doki to the local government headquarters in Anka town. Since their arrival, local government authorities have shown them an abandoned and dilapidated structure that used to be a veterinary clinic to camp in.
For the past five days, the victims told the ICIR that they had not received any support from the government, even though they left home without food or sleeping materials. Many of them have resorted to begging for alms in their host community. At night, many are forced to sleep on the streets.
Explaining what happened, the villagers said they had lived under the influence of bandits for more than five years and were forced to work for the bandits, then led by the late Halilu Sububu. Since Sububu was killed by the Nigerian Military in 2024, another bandit leader, Gwaska, who inherited the much-coveted role of bandit leader in the Bagega axis, has claimed many of the mining fields, forcing villagers into unpaid labour.
For many communities, working for bandits was the only means of securing peace, although villagers were occasionally allowed to farm for themselves.
However, with many of the youths and able-bodied men leaving the village for better opportunities elsewhere, the elderly men left behind say they no longer have the strength to keep doing what the bandits demand.
“He (Gwaska) recently sent a message for us to come and work for him at the mine, but we didn’t go because we are old. When they didn’t see us, he sent a message for us to leave the village. So, we had to leave hurriedly. There was no time to take anything,” an elderly man told The ICIR.
Gwaska has been a menace to several villages in the Bagega, Wuya, Sabon Birni and Bawar Daji districts of Anka. In addition to confiscating farmlands, he forces community members to farm for him for free. Communities are also expected to send labourers to his mining fields on demand.
Since taking over areas controlled by the late Sububu, Gwaska, with the help of another bandit kingpin, Ado Aleru has steadily expanded his control, launching attacks in Bukkuyum and Gummi LGAs in Zamfara and as far as Tambuwal in Sokoto State.
He is also known to force communities into ‘peace deals’ with him, under which they are expected to be subservient to him in exchange for being spared from his attacks.
On 13 October, he reportedly ordered community leaders from over two dozen communities to attend a meeting with him in the Bagega forest. During the meeting, attendees told the ICIR that Gwaska warned them to steer clear of political activities, threatening that the forthcoming elections would not hold in any community under his control.
“He accused us of giving information and working with the government to kill Fulani,” one community leader told The ICIR.
Residents claimed his anger stemmed from the recent establishment of an infantry battalion in Anka to boost security in the general area, with some bandits questioning the timing of the barracks establishment and claiming it was because of the elections.
This could partly explain why bandits have ramped up attacks across the LGA, including destroying the walls being erected at the new barracks. Sources say Gwaska led the attack that demolished the walls.
When contacted, the Divisional Police Officer in Anka, Aliyu Hassan, said he was not aware of the displacement of residents from Birnin Doki.
“It’s like they have not reported the issue, though I’m in Gusau (Zamfara State capital) now and will be going back to Anka today. Let me get to Anka first and find out, but it’s like they have not reported it. If they had reported, even if I’m in Gusau, I believe my officers would call and inform me of what happened,” Aliyu said.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Zamfara, Yazid Abubakar, also said he was not aware of the situation but promised to find out from the DPO and get back to the reporter. He had not done so at the time of filing this report, while calls to the chairman of Anka Local Government Area, Bashar Musa, were unanswered, and text and WhatsApp messages sent to his phone were also not responded to.
The ICIR attempted to contact the member representing Anka/Talata Mafara Federal Constituency, Muhammad Isa Anka, but his phone calls went unanswered. A text message and emails sent to both his personal and official addresses had also not been answered by the time this report was filed.
ICIR
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