A SaharaReporters investigation in Dogon Dawa community, where over 20 people were killed in a mosque, and in other neighboring villages in Birnin Gwari local government area of Kaduna State, has learned of the presence of suspected terrorists camped out under the cover of dense forests in Kaduna State bordering Plateau,Niger, Kano, Zamfara and Katsina States.
A SaharaReporters investigation in Dogon Dawa community, where over 20 people were killed in a mosque, and in other neighboring villages in Birnin Gwari local government area of Kaduna State, has learned of the presence of suspected terrorists camped out under the cover of dense forests in Kaduna State bordering Plateau,Niger, Kano, Zamfara and Katsina States.
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Senior State Security Service personnel who had previously studied the area and made several recommendations for immediate action, also confirmed to SaharaReporters the use of forest cover as a suspected hide-out. Also a senior police officer said the immediate solution is military action using helicopters to support ground troops. Barring this, he said "they will continue to carry out their attacks and what we witnessed last Sunday just a joke..”
A SaharaReporters team which drove through villages in Niger State to Birnin Gwari spoke with villagers before arriving at the national park in a serene area called Kamuku.
The suspected terrorists, according to the locals are heavily armed and live mainly in the thick forest except when they are traveling outside of the terrain.
They added that the suspected terrorists have established tents and other mobile settlements inside the thick forest; some of them are foreigners and others are mercenaries who specialize in carrying out killings and counter attacks in Kaduna State and other parts of the north.
These criminal elements, they said, also double as armed robbers, in search of money for their running costs and upkeep.
One of the villagers who spoke through an interpreter said, “There are strange men inside the forests, they are camping in there and at times you will see them carrying their luggages on motorbikes before melting into the forests. There is nothing we can do, but they have never attacked us, but they have been targeting villages that formed vigilantes against their operations in the area. They do not talk with anyone. And we heard that they usually block the road and rob motorists.”
The security personnel who spoke on the condition of anonymity further explained, “The whole area is under threat, these people come here from hundreds of kilometres away, through the bush, from forests in Zamfara or Katsina. They get here well armed and know the terrain. We need ground troops and air support to raid and survey the whole forests. It is an urgent exercise”
There were differing views in Dogon Dawa community where over 20 people were butchered on Sunday. Muhammad, who is a relation to late vigilante leader, Ahmadu Aliyu, said, they are armed robbers who came to kill our father because he was a thorn in their flesh. "These people are organized terrorists or militia, armed robbers we know cannot carry out this act in this manner. They came around 4:30 am and left around 6:30 am.”
Another young boy who spoke in tears said, “They are thieves tormenting us and all the travelers in the Birnin Gwari routes. But it is obvious they engaged services of experienced killers and they wrote us that they will come, but the authorities did not care until they struck..”
SaharaReporters saw armed soldiers and anti-riot policemen fully stationed in the area, they all refused to talk to our reporter.
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