Odita Sunday 
Troops Rescue Four Victims, Intensify Hunt for Bandit Leader Kachalla Muhammadu Fulani
By Odita Sunday
Troops of the Nigerian Army conducting Operation CLEAN SWEEP III have recorded another breakthrough in ongoing counter-banditry operations in Katsina State with the rescue of four kidnapped victims during operations targeting notorious bandit kingpin, Kachalla Muhammadu Fulani, and his network.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Aliyu Danja, Media Information Officer of Joint Task Force (North West) Operation FANSAN YAMMA, the successful operation underscores the military’s determination to dismantle terrorist enclaves and rescue captives across the North-West.
Danja disclosed that troops of 17 Brigade Strike Group/Quick Response Force, supported by troops of 8 Division Special Forces, launched a deliberate offensive on June 16 against terrorists’ hideouts in Fafu Village along the Matazu-Musawa axis.
He explained that prior to the ground assault, the Air Component of Operation FANSAN YAMMA conducted Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance missions that enabled troops to identify and dominate the terrorists’ enclave.
“Unable to withstand the troops’ aggressive offensive, the terrorists fled in disarray and abandoned their camp and captives,” Danja stated.
He added that troops subsequently exploited the camp and rescued four abducted victims.
According to him, the rescued victims were evacuated to the Forward Operating Base in Matazu where they were received by the General Officer Commanding 8 Division and Commander Sector 2 Operation FANSAN YAMMA, Major General BP Koughna.
Danja further disclosed that some of the victims sustained gunshot wounds inflicted by their abductors during captivity and were transferred to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina, for expert medical management.
Preliminary investigations, he said, revealed that the victims were abducted on April 14, 2026, from Sabon Sara along the Matazu-Karaduwa Road and held in captivity alongside the late Major General Rabe Abubakar (retd.) and his wife.
He reaffirmed the military’s resolve to sustain pressure on criminal elements across the region.
“Troops remain on the trail of Kachalla Muhammadu Fulani and other criminal elements and will continue to sustain aggressive operations until all those responsible for acts of terror against innocent citizens are apprehended or neutralised,” Danja said.
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