On 5 October, terror kingpin Dankarami Gwaska attacked a military base and mining sites in Dansadau Emirate of Zamfara State in retaliation for the killing of his fighters
On 5 October, a terror kingpin, Dankarami Gwaska, and his fighters attacked a military base and mining sites in the gold-rich Bindin ward of Dansadau Emirate in the Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The following day, the terrorist sent emissaries to Bindin, demanding financial compensation from the community for the weapons he lost after his fighters were killed in the area several days before his gang attacked the military base.
Residents confirmed that Mr Gwaska’s men were killed in Bindin, but not by the military. They were reportedly killed by rival terror groups operating in the axis.
Mr Gwaska’s forces later killed scores of miners in Bindin ward, all to avenge the killing of his fighters. He then imposed a ₦50 million “protection levy” on Bindin and neighbouring farming communities.
Residents said the terrorist extorted about N360 million in protection levies from the communities within two weeks of sacking the military base.
According to residents and security sources, the destruction of the town’s sole line of defence—the military base—has forced nearly the entire population to flee.
These sources shared videos and photos with our reporter showing locals and miners departing in heavily overloaded vehicles.
Mr Gwaska is a prominent bandit in Zurmi Local Government Area. He attacked the palace of the late Emir of Zurmi and is notorious for village raids, cattle rustling, and kidnapping for ransom in the Zurmi axis.
According to local sources, Mr Gwaska relocated to the Dansadau Emirate recently, under pressure from the military and rival terror leader Bello Turji. He had also reportedly escaped assassination in the neighbouring Niger Republic.
In Dansadau, he reportedly struck protection deals with the local mining operators, after ousting smaller gangs from key sites, including the major gold deposit in Bindin.
The deals compelled miners to share their revenues with the terrorist.
To maintain operational stability, Mr Gwaska entered into separate peace deals with the local communities, including Dan Kurmi, Bindin, Gobirawa Chali, and areas extending to Magami.
Residents and security sources told PREMIUM TIMES that the temporary peace attracted over 10,000 people to Dansadau to work as labourers at the illegal gold mines, and increased local business activities.
Under the protection arrangement over the past year, labourers keep a third of the gold they extract, while the operating entity takes the remaining two-thirds.
However, tension escalated after Mr Gwaska’s group reportedly raised its taxes on the labourers.
This led to clashes in which several of his fighters were killed. While rival bandit factions were suspected in the killings, Mr Gwaska blamed the labourers and the military, prompting the 15 October retaliatory attacks on the military base and mining grounds in Bindin.
Bindin sits at the edge of the ungoverned Kwiambana forest linking Katsina, Kaduna, Kebbi and Niger states. It is one of the five wards of Dansadau Emirate. The other wards are Kwiambana, Dan-Gulbi, Dan-Kurmi and Dansadau town.
The Dansadau Emirate alone covers 492 of the 1180 square kilometres of Zamfara State territory, that is, over one third of the state’s landmass.
The area’s land is suitable for farming and livestock rearing, and is believed to have vast gold deposits.
Mr Gwaska and the other bandits operate from the Kwiambana Game Reserve, which provides natural cover from security personnel and for moving rustled cattle and abducted people.
The government created the Kwiambana Game Reserve in Zamfara to preserve wildlife. The forest stretches from the ‘Dajin Rugu’ to the Kontagora Forest.
The reserve has been slated as a possible UNESCO heritage site. For now, it is a notorious hideout for criminals.
However, it is not only disagreement in peace deals that is behind violence in these troubled areas.
Residents narrated to PREMIUM TIMES how another terror kingpin, known as Rambo, moved to avenge his lieutenants killed by local vigilantes in the Yantasha community. The vigilantes also allegedly confiscated their firearms.
In a letter seen by this newspaper, Rambo detailed his grievances and ordered the community to return the confiscated rifles. But the vigilantes ignored the order, daring him to retrieve the weapons by force.
Recognising the community’s defensive capabilities, Rambo targeted other vulnerable areas, raiding communities such as Yar Gada, Mai Kogo, Magama, and Mai Rake, inflicting heavy casualties and causing mass displacement.
Rambo vowed to block the Magami–Dansadau highway until he received ₦50 million in damages.
To enforce this blockade, he planted improvised explosive devices (IEDs), forcing the road to be abandoned for three days until the military cleared the hazard on 9 October.
The success of the demining operation was confirmed in a statement by Aliyu Danja, an army spokesperson for Operation Fasan Yamma—the counter-banditry force in the state.
