Three repentant bandits Governor Bello Masari of Katsina State has brought into his cabinet in the amnesty programme were arrested during robbery.
The 3 ‘now-unrepentant’ bandits were identified as Abdullahi Mai-Rafi 43, Abbas Haruna alias Dogo-Abbas 34 and Usman Hassan, (aka Manu) 50, with Abdullahi Mai-Rafi as their gang leader.
They were believed to have been working in the office of the special adviser on security, with all the pay and perks attached.
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However, the police just found out that they were moonlighting.
The banditry group outside official duty hours armed themselves with machetes and clubs, and go into banditry: cattle rustling and robbery.
The unrepentant trio were rounded up by the police during an attack on a herdsman as nemesis caught up with them.
Reporting to the case, the state police spokesperson Gambo said,
“The trio went to Danmarke forest, Ingawa LGA, with a motor vehicle – Toyota Camry, ash in colour, with registration number DE 631 LED—and attacked a herder, one Alhaji Gide Suleiman of Malumafashi LGA while grazing his animals,
“Threatened him and his boys that they were from the office of the Special Adviser on Security to His Excellency, with a false allegation that their brother, Ine Sa’idu had robbed one Lawal of his herds and that they should either produce the said Saidu or bring hundred (100) cows.”
“They fought the herder, and succeeded in rustling 20 cows valued at N7.5m. They also searched and robbed the herder’s family of N40,000 and four GSM handsets.”
“The penitent bandits came the second time, attempting to stick up the same family. The police, already involved, moved in, and rounded them up.”
“The gang leader, Abdullahi Mai-Rafi confessed to have conspired with the others and sold all the cows at Dankama market, Kaita LGA of the state. Two cows and N444,000 were recovered as exhibits from them.”
It is worthy of recalling that the State Governor initiated the amnesty programme for bandits to ensure peace across the state, but pulled out of the peace deal with bandits in July 2020 after spending around N30Million, as a result continued attacks on communities in the state.
