I don’t kidnap people, I only kill them — Bandit Chief and Sarkin Fulani Yandoton Daji Emirate, Adamu Aleru

Notorious banditry kingpin, Ada Aleru, who was recently named the Sarkin Fulani Yandoton Daji Emirate (the head of the Fulani in Yandoton Daji) in a chilling confession, said he does not kidnap people but kills them.

Recall that Aleru who is the leading terrorist in Tsafe and Faskari axis of Zamfara and Katsina states, was recently coronated and it generated public outcry across the country. The state government, subsequently, suspended the Emir of the town, Aliyu Marafa, who conferred the title on Mr Aleru, who is wanted in neighbouring Katsina State for mass killings.

The Katsina government placed a bounty of N5 million on information leading to the arrest of Mr Aleru, who is accused of k#lling 52 people in Kadisau, a community in Faskari Local Government in 2019. In his first and only known interview with the media, Mr Aleru told the BBC that he is angry with Hausas and the Nigerian government.

In a documentary titled “The Bandit Warlords of Zamfara” billed to be aired soon, Mr Aleru said while his men kidnap people, he is only interested in killing people. “My men do that; I just go and kill them (people),” Mr Aleru said.

An unnamed associate of Mr Aleru told the BBC Africa Eye team that “the Fulani are systematically excluded from government jobs and other economic opportunities, and that the Nigerian air force attacks innocent Fulani herders and kills their cattle. “How have the Fulani become so worthless in Nigeria?” he asks.”

He lamented that the grazing routes the Fulani relied on upon have been closed off while land and water have become very scarce.