In Borno State, a high-ranking commander of the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) named Kiriku met his demise after being bitten by a snake. This information was shared by counter-insurgency expert Zagazola Makama, who focuses on the Lake Chad region, through a tweet on his official Twitter account, as reported by Gurustab on Saturday.
Makama revealed that Kiriku suffered the snake bite injury while inside one of ISWAP’s hideouts located in the Damboa Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno. Sadly, Kiriku was unable to receive medical treatment for the venomous wound and succumbed to his injuries on Friday.
Prior to his unfortunate demise, Kiriku was an active operative in the Jiddari area of Chiralia within the Timbuktu triangle. He played a significant role in orchestrating numerous attacks and ambushes against the troops of Operation Hadin Kai in Borno.
The Timbuktu triangle, a stronghold shared by Boko Haram and ISWAP, spans across four LGAs in Borno, namely Damboa, Jere, Kaga, Konduga, and Gujba LGA in Yobe state.
In a separate incident, an attack by bandits in the Sabon Layi community of Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area, Kaduna State, resulted in the reported deaths of three individuals and the abduction of several others. Anas Musa, a community leader, confirmed the attack to Channels Television on Friday, stating that the bandits arrived in Sabon Layi village around noon on Thursday and began firing their weapons indiscriminately.
According to Musa, three farmers—Anas Sabonlayi, Abubakar Dankibiya, and Harisu Un-Guwar Lemu—lost their lives during the violent encounter. Usman Kasai, the Chairman of Birnin Gwari Emirate Progressive Union (BEPU), also verified the incident, mentioning that they are currently working to determine the exact number of individuals who were kidnapped and remain in the custody of the bandits within the forest.
As of now, the police and local government authorities in Birnin-Gwari have not provided an official statement regarding the incident.
