One of Nigeria’s most feared bandit leaders, Halilu Sububu, has been killed in a military ambush, marking a significant win in the country’s ongoing battle against criminal gangs. Sububu, also known as Halilu Buzu, was reportedly neutralised on Thursday along with over 38 of his fighters during an intense gunfight that followed an ambush of his convoy.
The operation, carried out by Nigerian Air Force Special Forces, was based on intelligence about Sububu’s movements. Group Captain Kabiru Ali, a spokesperson for the Nigerian Air Force, confirmed that the joint operation led to the death of Sububu and a large number of his fighters. The troops also recovered a substantial cache of weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns, and ammunition.
Sububu, 38, was notorious for his violent raids on communities in northwestern and central Nigeria. Operating from his base in Zamfara, he targeted villages in Sokoto, Kaduna, Katsina, and Niger states, engaging in activities like illegal mining and arms trafficking. He was known to supply weapons to criminal gangs from Libya via Niger and dominated areas around the Sunke forest in the gold-rich Anka district.
The bandit leader was one of 19 bandit kingpins on whom the Nigerian military had placed a bounty of five million naira ($3,050) each in November 2022. Despite narrowly escaping a previous airstrike in October 2022, Sububu’s death represents a significant blow to the criminal networks operating in the region.
Security sources reported that Sububu and his convoy, consisting of around 60 fighters, were ambushed in Mayanchi, a village in the Zurmi district. The clash continued into the early hours of Friday morning, resulting in the deaths of Sububu and most of his senior fighters.
Nigeria’s defence minister had previously declared Sububu wanted for his major role in banditry, noting the importance of this recent military success in the fight against organized crime.
