Joint air, ground military offensive takes out bandit kingpin Kachalla Kabiru in Kogi

Joint air, ground military offensive takes out bandit kingpin Kachalla Kabiru in Kogi 

Joint air, ground military offensive takes out bandit kingpin Kachalla Kabiru in Kogi – Sources

A major counter-banditry operation involving Nigeria’s top security architecture has reportedly eliminated a feared criminal kingpin in what is described as a significant blow to the expanding network of armed groups operating across the North-Central and parts of the South-West.

Security sources confirmed that operatives working under the coordination of the Office of the National Security Adviser, alongside the Department of State Services and troops of the Nigerian Army 2 Division, neutralised the bandit leader known as Kachalla Kabiru during a February 13 operation in Kogi State.

The mission, which combined precision airstrikes by the Nigerian Air Force with ground assaults, followed weeks of intelligence gathering and aerial surveillance that tracked the movement and location of the suspect within forest corridors linking Kwara State to the Obajana axis in western Kogi.

A senior security operative involved in the exercise said the coordinated attack also took out several of Kabiru’s top commanders.

“The target and his key lieutenants were neutralised in a joint air and ground offensive after actionable intelligence confirmed their enclave,” the source disclosed.

For more than a decade, Kabiru had been on the radar of security agencies as one of the earliest bandit figures to establish a strong operational base in Kogi — a state increasingly viewed as a strategic gateway between Nigeria’s northern and southern regions..

Intelligence reports indicate that he relocated from the North-West at the peak of the banditry surge and gradually embedded himself in border communities and dense forests, where he built a trans-regional kidnapping and arms-running network.

From these enclaves, his group allegedly coordinated attacks and abductions across Kogi, Kwara, Benue, Enugu, Edo, Ekiti and Ondo states, exploiting porous boundaries and difficult terrain to evade security forces.

Another intelligence official described the late kingpin as a “logistical clearing house” for armed groups, facilitating the movement of fighters, weapons and kidnapped victims across multiple zones.

His operations were also believed to have links with extremist elements, including factions with ideological and operational affinity to Boko Haram, raising concerns among security planners about the convergence of terrorism and organised criminality in the North-Central.

Though not historically listed among the worst-hit states in Nigeria’s banditry crisis, Kogi’s geographic location has made it increasingly vulnerable in recent years.

The state serves as a major transit route connecting the Federal Capital Territory to the South-West and South-South, while its vast forest belts provide cover for criminal groups fleeing sustained military offensives in the North-West.

Security experts have repeatedly warned that the gradual southward movement of bandit groups could reshape Nigeria’s security map if not decisively confronted. Kabiru’s network was considered a key enabler of that shift.

The reported killing is being viewed within security circles as a breakthrough that could disrupt coordination among armed groups operating across state lines.

By targeting a figure said to be central to recruitment, weapons supply and ransom-driven kidnapping operations, the operation is expected to temporarily weaken criminal collaboration in the North-Central corridor.

However, security experts cautioned that the impact will depend on sustained follow-up operations to dismantle the remaining cells and prevent the emergence of splinter leaders.

As of the time of filing this report, there had been no official confirmation from the Office of the National Security Adviser, the DSS, the Nigerian Army or the Nigerian Air Force.

The development comes amid intensified military and intelligence-led operations aimed at dismantling bandit enclaves and cutting off their supply chains nationwide.

If formally confirmed, the neutralisation of Kabiru would signal a growing shift toward intelligence-driven, joint-force missions — a strategy security authorities have increasingly adopted to target high-value criminal actors rather than relying solely on conventional troop deployments.

For communities across Kogi and neighbouring states that have endured years of kidnappings and violent attacks, the operation offers cautious hope — but also a reminder that the wider battle against organised armed groups is far from over.