He was reportedly granted a pardon by the state government in 2018 when caught during a gun duel with the joint security team in the state.
The police in Kogi State, north-central Nigeria say they have killed one of the thugs reportedly working for Governor Yahaya Bello, Kabir Bala, aka Okwo.
The police identified Bala as the leader of an armed robbery gang.
He was reportedly granted a pardon by the state government in 2018 when caught during a gun duel with the joint security team in the state.
At a press conference in Lokoja, the state capital on Thursday, the state police commissioner, CP Akeem A. Yusuf, said Bala was killed around 4.30 pm during a shootout with the joint security team.
He said other members of his gang escaped with varying degrees of injury.
The state police spokesman, DSP Williams Ovye Ayah, confirmed that the state government granted Bala a pardon in October 2018.
SaharaReporters learnt that Bala was one of the thugs used by Governor Bello for ‘dirty jobs’.
The thug that Governor Yahaya Bello used in 2019 to rig his election and was made a community leader by Bello has just been killed.
“He (Bala) was killed after he withdraw his support for Yahaya Bello recently to support the Social Democratic Party candidate, Muritala Yakubu Ajaka. This is an example of ‘Evil that men do lives after them’.
“He was the target of the unrest this morning in Ejule community. They killed him two hours ago,” a security source told SaharaReporters.
According to the police spokesman, several atrocities were linked to Bala including killings and abductions.
He was also linked to the tragic death of a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Ofu Local Government Area of the state, Mrs Salome Abu, who was burnt to death in her house in 2019.
Among others, Bala and his gang were also linked to the killing of one Muhammed and one Dauda at Imoko on March 3, 2023.
The deceased and his gang were also linked to an attack on troops of the Nigerian Navy and dispossessed at Alloma village on March 4, 2022, during which the gang stole some firearms.
He said the firearms were later recovered by the Navy.
The police also accused Bala and his gang of being behind the attack on the founder of Kingdom Faith Assembly, Elisha Aya, in Ejule town on March 18, 2022.
The sum of N1 million was reportedly paid to Bala as a ‘levy’ for establishing a church.
He was also linked to the invasion of Egane Fulani settlement on December 25, 2022, during which 213 huts were razed and 122 cows were rustled.
The police commissioner also linked Bala and his gang to an attack on the Lord’s Chosen Church, Ejule on January 29, 2023, “for disturbing his hotel with their service”.
He said during the attack, one Joy Abuh, a worshipper “sustained a gunshot injury on her left hand”.
He accused Bala and his gang of being behind the abduction of seven persons along the Itobe-Anyigba highway between May 5 and 28, 2023.
He said, “And based on the above facts, the decision was reached at the state security council meeting held on 20th June 2023 that the state pardon granted to Kabir Bala in 2018 be revoked immediately.”
The police said they recovered one AK-47 with three fully loaded magazines, six locally fabricated weapons, charms and two phones from Bala’s premises.