A suspected notorious bandit commander, Kachalla Sharme, has been killed in a clash between rival gangs in Kaduna State.
According to a statement credited to the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan yesterday, the bandit leader was killed in a fierce gun duel at Hambakko in the Rijana and Kaso Forests, which span Kachia and parts of Chikun and Kajuru Local Government Areas.
Aruwan said two other bandits were also killed, while five others suffered life-threatening injuries in the clash, which occurred on Saturday.
The commissioner added that Sharme’s gang was responsible for numerous attacks, killings and kidnappings in Kaduna and neighbouring states, including the July 5, 2021, abduction of 121 students from Bethel Baptist High School in Kujama.
He disclosed that security forces had been tracking Sharme, who had repeatedly evaded capture, while noting that his death was seen as a major victory in the fight against banditry in the region, particularly in the Northwest.