By Onibiyo Segun
(MARU, Zamfara State) – Terrorists loyal to wanted criminal kingpin Kachalla Gwaska Dankarami killed 14 security personnel Monday during simultaneous attacks on Bindin and Gobirawar Chali communities in Maru County, Zamfara State, sending thousands of residents fleeing toward Dansadau and Gusau, TruthNigeria has learned.
Residents told TruthNigeria that hundreds of terrorists arrived on motorcycles, carrying AK-47 rifles, they surrounded the two communities and engaged a joint force of police, Community Protection Guards and vigilantes in prolonged gun battles before setting homes ablaze.
Musa Ibrahim, a Gobirawar Chali resident sheltering in Dansadau, said about 3,500 people had already fled the Gobirawa axis. “We left with only our clothes. We will not return unless soldiers stay permanently,” Ibrahim told TruthNigeria.
According to an ‘X’ Twitter security commentator Bakatsine, he says the attacks have also forced more than 10,000 residents to flee their homes in search of safety.
Security analyst D English Alhaji posted a video on Instagram showing residents fleeing the affected community.
“Our people who remained after earlier waves of displacement have now fled,” Garba Sani, a Bindin community leader, told TruthNigeria in a telephone chat. Recalling that villagers had repeatedly demanded a permanent security presence before the latest attack.
The attack was first reported by TG News, which identified the attackers as fighters loyal to Dankarami.
Bindin Was Warned Before The Attack
Monday’s assault struck a community already known to be vulnerable.
A May 2026 investigation by Saturday PUNCH found more than 1,000 communities in Zamfara without adequate security presence. Garba Sani of Bindin told the newspaper that residents had repeatedly petitioned for a police station or deployment but received no response.
“There are currently over one thousand communities in the state living without police stations. The terrorists operate even in broad daylight in my village because there is no security presence,” Sani said at the time.
TruthNigeria had also reported Bindin’s security vulnerability, including residents’ appeals for protection as terrorists expanded their reach across rural Zamfara.
Residents told TruthNigeria that the nearest security reinforcement had to come from Dansadau, about 40 kilometers from the attacked communities, while poor roads slowed the response.
Gobirawar Chali Was Already A Terrorist Hub
TruthNigeria reported in September that security authorities arrested a suspected medical attendant accused of treating wounded terrorists in Gobirawar Chali for about a year.
On January 31, troops of 8 Division, Nigerian Army, under Sector 2, Operation Fansan Yamma, overran a camp associated with Gwaska Dankarami in Maru County after intelligence indicated that more than 100 terrorists had gathered there. The army said scores of terrorists were neutralised and the camp destroyed. Their return nine months later suggests the network survived.
Residents of Dandallah, Gobirawa and Madada also told Daily Trust in August that terrorists had dominated the area for years, turning parts of the district into no-go areas for security forces.
‘14 Deaths Point To Tactical Failure’
“14 security personnel were killed, which clearly shows a poorly handled security arrangement. A tactical failure, ”Col. Aliyu Danbaba (Rtd.), security analyst and consultant based in Birnin Kebbi told TruthNigeria in a chat.
“If weapons were taken, then the attack was not only about killing security personnel. It was also a logistics operation to replenish the terrorists’ arsenal,” Danbaba added.
‘Two-Community Attack Was Deliberate’
“To hit two communities in Maru County on the same day and force thousands to flee, you need scouts, you need coordination and you need enough fighters to confront any quick-reaction force,” Prof. Amoon Bello, security and development analyst, explained to TruthNigeria.
“You cannot clear a terrorist camp and simply withdraw. Someone must hold the ground, protect the communities and prevent the fighters from returning,” Bello noted.
Thousands Flee As Farms And Homes Are Abandoned
A resident of Bindin, Ibrahim told TruthNigeria that, “families fled without food, livestock or farming equipment”. Humanitarian workers in Gusau told TruthNigeria that displaced families were sheltering in primary schools without adequate food or medical support.
Ibrahim said the latest attack could empty Bindin completely.
Governor Dauda Lawal has previously acknowledged that poor roads can delay security responses in remote parts of Maru and has advocated improved access and surveillance technology.
Clearance Without Holding
The central security question is no longer whether the January 31 military operation destroyed a terrorist camp in Maru. Operation Fansan Yamma confirmed it did.
“The operation in January was a clearance operation, not a hold operation. You cleared Gwaska Dankarami’s camp, you set it ablaze, and you left. What we saw on Monday in Bindin and Gobirawar Chali is the price of not holding ground,” Col. Aliyu Danbaba (Rtd.) told TruthNigeria.
“The terrorists retreated into Dan Gulbi forest, reorganized under the same command structure, rebuilt their logistics chain including medical support in Gobirawar Chali, and returned with superior numbers”, Danbaba explained.
He went on to say, “Bindin’s lack of permanent security and Gobirawar Chali’s unmanned medical support node created the vacuum terrorists exploited.”
“Dankarami’s network survived because its enablers survived. January’s operation destroyed the camp but not its logistics, informants or weapons supply. Without permanent security, Bindin and Gobirawar Chali will remain vulnerable and displaced,” Bello said.
Onibiyo Segun reports on terrorism and conflict for TruthNigeria.
