EXCLUSIVE: Residents jubilant as terror kingpin relocates to their area, praise him in new song

Residents of Magami in Gusau Local Government Area of Zamfara State are celebrating the relocation of Dogo Gide, a terrorism kingpin rumoured to have been killed in March, to their area.

Mr Gide was allegedly involved in the abduction of students from a public school in Kuriga, Kaduna State.

He was reported to have been killed in a gunfight with soldiers deployed to rescue the pupils.

Reports stated that the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji (OPHD) wounded Mr Gide in Madada forest in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State on 12 March, five days after the pupils were kidnapped at Kuriga.

According to unofficial reports, the terror kingpin died in a hospital in Sokoto, where he was receiving treatment.

When contacted in March, the spokesperson for ‘Operation Hadarin Daji’ in Zamfara, Suleiman Omale, had told PREMIUM TIMES that the military was trying to verify the report.

He said the result of “our findings” would be communicated to the public, but the army did not speak about Mr Gide since then.

This newspaper earlier reported how other intelligence sources said the terror kingpin was taken on a motorcycle to Kizara village for medical treatment.

The latest evidence from residents, however, established that Mr Gide survived the military bullets and has now relocated from his Babban Doka hideout in the Madada forest.

“Dogo Gide has relocated to Kizara, a community at the eastern fringe of Magami, after his encounter with the military and has assumed control of turfs in the areas. He directed farmers to return to their farms without fear of abduction or seizure of properties”, a resident confided in PREMIUM TIMES.

A new song shared with PREMIUM TIMES, released in June by unidentified singers allegedly from Tsafe, praises Mr Gide for relocating to their area, indicating the resumption of farming activities there.

“Residents are celebrating because abduction for ransom and killings have stopped. Farm fields that were abandoned for over four years for fear of kidnapping have been cultivated this year after Dogo Gide’s directive.

“He (Dogo Gide) has sat with all the Fulanis in the areas, including Ado Aleru, who controls part of Tsafe and Danjibga areas, and warned them to stop kidnapping and allow locals to farm.

“Now the Fulanis are attending Danjibga market in Tsafe Local Government Area without bearing arms, and residents can travel from Wanke to Danjibga, to Kuceri, Bilbis, and Keta without the fear of bandits. But some of the bandits are seizing things from people without the knowledge of their leaders,” the source added.

Song

“The commander who wants peace to reign is Dogo Gide,” a female voice said in the opening chorus.

In the Hausa language, the song hails Mr Gide as a compassionate person who had stopped the perpetrators of injustice and a commander who wanted peace to reign.

“I came with a new song of Dogo Gide, the mediator. In our areas now, we are proud of you; he always wants peace to reign; may God protect him against his enemies.

“He likes the poor; the perpetrators of injustice are afraid of you; whenever he arrives at their place, they all scatter. In the Fulani tribe, nobody is like Dogo Gide. He is the fence we lean on; the oppressed will not forget what he has done to us. As you arrived in our areas, you stopped the bandits terrorising us, and villagers found succour with the coming of Dogo Gide.

“We, the residents of western Tsafe, are now grateful; please be the solution to our problems.

“He has empathy, a cheerful giver; his generosity has no boundaries, and he has done good things at villages and bushes.

“The commander has sowed the seeds of justice; he is preaching and warning people to stop bloodshed, he doesn’t mingle with insincere persons, we are wishing you well,” verses from the new song stated.

Long reign of terror

Born in Erana district of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, Mr Gide’s long life of violence has left scars on several families. His group carried out many attacks in the North-west and North-central regions of Nigeria.

His operation primarily targets government institutions, officials, schools and travellers.

In July 2021, the terror kingpin and his allies kidnapped over 100 students and eight teachers from the, in Kebbi State. He released the survivors in batches after extracting ransoms.

Unlike other armed groups in the troubled regions, his gang members do not attack villages around the Kwiambana Game Reserve, Zamfara State, where he was hiding.

The new area Mr Gide has relocated to is the larger part of a forest reserve shared by five political wards of Bindin, Dan-Gulbi, Dan-Kurmi and Dansadau town under Dansadau Emirate in Maru LGA.

The area covers 492 square kilometres out of the 1180 square kilometres of Zamfara State – about one-third of the state’s landmass.

Mr Gide rose to notoriety in 2018 after he reportedly killed Tsoho Buhari, the most ruthless and feared bandit in the region.

Mr Gide, who was a protégé of Buhari Daji, killed Mr Buhari for reportedly rustling the cattle of Mr Gide’s in-law.

The killing of Mr Buhari thought to be invincible, ballooned Mr Gide’s reputation among the gangs operating in the area, which he exploited to expand his operations.