Notorious bandit leader Ado Aleru has executed seven of his own fighters in Zamfara State, accusing them of betrayal and unauthorized criminal activities that threatened his iron-fisted control.
Sources close to the bandit camp revealed that the killings occurred across remote villages of Takulawa, Turba, Bamamu, and the Yamma forest axis. Aleru, long feared for his reign of terror, personally carried out the executions after interrogating the suspects.
He alleged they orchestrated kidnappings along the Gusau-Yankara highway without his approval, actions he viewed as a direct challenge to his authority and a risk of attracting intensified security crackdowns.
“He confirmed they were behind the recent abductions of travelers on the highway and feared their rogue operations would draw too much attention from security forces,” one insider confided, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the volatile situation.
The executions, reportedly swift and brutal, have sown seeds of fear and resentment among Aleru’s remaining loyalists, signaling deepening mistrust within the fractured group.
Aleru, once designated a wanted terrorist by the Federal Government with a N5 million bounty, has a notorious history of masterminding kidnappings, mass killings, and cattle rustling across Zamfara, Katsina, and Sokoto states.
His gangs have displaced thousands and fueled the Northwest’s insecurity crisis.
Ironically, just months ago in June 2025, Aleru was at the center of controversy for attending a so-called peace meeting with officials from Zamfara and Katsina governments, including traditional rulers and security representatives in Katsina’s Danmusa area.
The event drew sharp criticism from civil society groups like the Citizens for Equity and Justice Initiative (CEJI), who decried it as a betrayal of victims and a normalization of terrorism, urging probes by the National Security Adviser and Inspector-General of Police.
As rivalries simmer—evident in his March 2025 emergency meeting following the killing of his nephew by a Dogo Gide-aligned faction—the bandit king’s actions may escalate violence, leaving communities in perpetual dread.