Four days after he renounced his earlier repentance and returned to the forest, Auwal Daudawa, best known for his role in the abduction of 300 schoolboys in Katsina State has been killed by a rival gang.

Reliable sources informed Daily Trust that Daudawa was shot dead during a gun duel with a rival gang at Dumburum forest located between Zurmi Local Government in Zamfara State and Batsari Local Government in Katsina State, on Friday evening.

The notorious bandit shot to prominence after he masterminded attack on Government Secondary School, Kankara, where he abducted over 300 schoolboys.

Two months later, the bandit appeared in Gusau, capital of Zamfara, along with five of his men where he announced his repentance and handed over 20 AK-rifles and other weapons to the police.

On Thursday, this newspaper exclusively reported Daudawa’s return to the trenches after he vacated his new abode in Damba, the outskirts of Gusau.

Sources told our reporter that Daudawa was killed while leading his men on a revenge attack on boys loyal to another bandit called Ballolo.

It was gathered that while Daudawa was in Gusau following his repentance, some armed members of the Ballolo camp attacked the position of his men in an attempt to rustle their cattle, killing two of Daudawa’s gang members in the process.

Daudawa was said to have vowed to retaliate.

A source told Daily Trust that while Daudawa’s gang succeeded in killing some persons in the opposing gang, their leader was gunned down by Ballolo’s boys.

Confirming the story to Daily Trust, Zamfara Commissioner for Security and Home Affairs, Abubakar Dauran, said Daudawa was killed after he murdered somebody and rustled his cattle.

“After he swore by the Qur’an never to go back to his old ways, we heard that he went back under the guise of going to attend wedding of his relatives but he instead resumed his illegal activities.

“We heard that he killed someone and attempted to rustle his cattle but the other people in the forest rose up to him and killed him in the process,” he said.

•Text (excluding headline) courtesy of Daily Trust.

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