Abdulkarimu Faca-Faca, the head of a terrorist gang operating in Zamfara, was killed by the Nigerian Air Force on Sunday morning during an air raid. Eight top commanders and Mr. Faca-two Faca’s wives were also slain in the operation.
Around 3:00 a.m in the morning on Sunday, an airstrike was carried out at Marina, the terrorist’s ancestral home in Safana Local Government, Katsina State.
Exclusive information obtained by reports from a source at the Forward Operation Base (FOB) in Katsina indicates that the air raid was carried out after officers got a report from the intelligence community on the whereabouts of Mr. Faca-Faca.
The Air Raid
Mr. Faca-Faca was reportedly one of the more visible bandits in the region, according to a source at the Forward Operation Base.
“He was of interest to us because of his notoriety. You know some of them only engage in cattle rustling or kidnapping but he did every crime. He was into cattle rustling, kidnapping, armed robbery and ruthless attacks,” said the source who asked not to be named as he has no permission to speak to journalists.
“We received two intelligence reports all confirming that he (Mr Faca-Faca) would be sleeping at home before our officers set out for the raid,” he said.
He said that for the air raid, two helicopters and a jet were utilized, and that another jet was deployed for a clean-up at around 10 a.m. on Sunday.
The officer claimed that MI 17, an Augusta helicopter, and an Alpha jet were utilized in the raids.
“This morning again (Sunday) around 10 a.m., we moved in for a mop-up and as expected, some of the bandits who were conducting a burial for their leader were killed too. I can’t tell you how many of them have died, they were many,” he said.
He added that two of the bandits’ leader wives who were with him in the house were also killed.
“We’ll only know the actual number later,” the source said.
Faca-Faca
Shamsu Masud, a resident of Safana, claimed that the terrorist who was killed was well-known for organizing attacks against locals in Safana, Danmusa, Batsari, and some locations in Zamfara State.
He claimed that Mr. Faca-Faca had a practice of intimidating neighborhoods when they gave security officers inside information.
“Last year, he attacked one Mani Dogo, a repented bandit leader here in Safana. He said Mani Dogo was giving information to the police and the Katsina Government. It was a battle of weapons between them but Faca-Faca killed most of Mani Dogo’s boys. He (Mani) has not been seen since that time,” he said.
When asked if he knew about the raid, Mr. Masud responded that several bandits had entered some areas of the town (Safana) on Sunday morning as they fled the airstrikes.
He claimed that Mr. Faca-Faca was well-known for intimidating other bandits who agreed to talk to the state authorities, leading to some of them breaking their agreements out of fear of being killed.
“We saw them on their motorbikes while some people said they saw bandits on their feet but I only saw those on motorcycles and they were not carrying guns,” he said.
The Rescue
In a similar line, the Katsina State Police Command reports that after raiding certain terrorist hideouts at Tandama Village in the State’s Danja LGA, it was able to free six kidnapped individuals.
SP Gambo Isah, Police Public Relations Officer, Katsina State disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
The statement reads: “On Saturday 6/08/2022, at about 0530hrs, based on credible intelligence, the command raided terrorists hideouts at Unguwan Dako, Tandama village, Danja LGA and succeeded in rescuing six kidnapped victims.
“Those rescued are: 52’years old Alh. Garba DanMallam, of Unguwar Nuhu, Danja LGA, Rabiu Idris 45, of the same address, Abba Samaila 38, of the same address, Yunusa Sani 54, of Layin Sani village, Kafur
Ishaq Yakub 40, of the same address, Danjuma Samaila 45, of the same address.”
