suspected gunrunner allegedly defrauded notorious bandit kingpin Kachalla Maha of ₦95 million under the pretext of procuring weapons for him before disappearing with the money, a member of the House of Representatives has revealed.
SaharaReporters gathered that Kachalla Maha, who has terrorised communities in Musawa and Matazu local government areas of Katsina State, was swindled after entrusting the suspect with funds intended for the purchase of arms.
The revelation was made by Hon. Abdullahi Aliyu, the member representing Musawa/Matazu Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, during a recent interview with Hausa NTA.
According to the lawmaker, the discovery emerged during ongoing investigations and security operations aimed at tackling banditry in the affected communities
He described the incident as one of the most startling findings uncovered during the investigations.
“The most painful part is this: during the operations we were carrying out, we discovered that someone had defrauded a bandit. This Muhammadu you are hearing about duped him. He was a gunrunner. He collected the bandit’s money under the pretense that he would procure weapons for him, but he disappeared with the money after blocking his contact,” Aliyu said.
Aliyu explained that after losing the money, the notorious bandit leader became desperate as pressure mounted over the failed arms deal.
According to him, the bandit kingpin subsequently began pushing for a peace meeting involving security stakeholders and those connected to the violence, hoping to use the process to resolve his predicament.
“As part of our investigations, Muhammadu became frightened because he did not know how to get out of the situation. He then started pleading that there should be a peace meeting to settle the attacks in the axis. During the discussions, he said there was someone he wanted to hand over first before anything else could happen. That was one of the conditions,” he said.
The federal lawmaker said the bandit leader eventually identified the alleged gunrunner and narrated how the money had been transferred.
“He then mentioned a man called ‘gunrunner’ by name. I know the name. He explained exactly what had happened. He said the money had been deposited through POS operators in Matazu town. He claimed it was ₦29 million,” the lawmaker said.
Aliyu said investigators did not rely on hearsay but instead conducted a thorough probe into the financial transactions.
“During the investigation, we questioned people, because we do not act based on hearsay. It was established that the money was shared there, and the funds were transferred through POS operators to the gunrunner,” he said.
According to him, the investigation enabled security operatives to obtain court orders that helped trace the movement of the money
“Eventually, the gunrunner was arrested after those incidents. Since we had already begun the investigation, we took the POS operator to Katsina High Court. An affidavit was sworn because the transaction was through an OPay phone number. We obtained the necessary court orders, carried out tracing, and eventually tracked down and arrested him,” he said.
The lawmaker disclosed that investigators later discovered the amount transferred was far higher than initially claimed.
“In the end, we discovered that the amount involved was actually ₦95 million, not ₦29 million. The ₦95 million was moved in Matazu through POS operators and fuel stations, where the cash was deposited and repeatedly transferred until it reached the gun runner,” Aliyu said.
Aliyu lamented the alleged complicity of some community members in fuelling insecurity by facilitating the procurement of weapons for criminal groups.
“Just look at what some of our own people are doing. They go and seek weapons that will later be used to kill their own brothers. You know what is happening, yet you do not provide intelligence or report it to anyone,” he said.
“Then the bandit even turns around to claim that he was the one who had been cheated. May Allah have mercy.”
He said he personally witnessed the evidence gathered during the investigation.
“Honestly, when this case came before us, I witnessed it myself. I saw the evidence with my own eyes. Yet you will still find people acting as though nothing is wrong. Someone receives just ₦100 to buy data on his phone and immediately starts saying nonsense, without considering the seriousness of what is happening. Whether they understand it or not, these are our own people,” he said.
The lawmaker stressed that insecurity would remain difficult to defeat unless communities confronted internal collaborators who, according to him, continue to support armed groups.
“So how can this problem ever end? That is why the fight against insecurity has remained difficult. It will not succeed as long as our own people refuse to tell themselves the truth. We are doing this for the sake of leadership and the country, not because of any personal interest in power,” he said.
Aliyu described the situation as an example of “sabotage from within,” alleging that some residents provide logistics, intelligence and other forms of support to bandits operating in the state.
“The very people you are looking at are the ones supporting them and strengthening them in ways you cannot imagine. They are the ones supplying them and covering for them. They provide logistics, supplies, and all the information they need. Yet these people live among us, and none of it seems to bother them,” he said.
He called for greater vigilance and public cooperation with security agencies, saying ongoing investigations continue to expose the extent of local collaboration with criminal elements.
“May Allah continue to expose those responsible for these acts. The more we investigate, the more we discover that the problem is far greater than people realize,” he said.