Ali Kachalla: Unveiling The Zamfara Terror Kingpin Who Downed NAF Jet
Ali Kachalla: Unveiling The Zamfara Terror Kingpin Who Downed NAF Jet
The fighter jet was brought down by men of Kachalla’s gang near Kabaru village
A notorious terror kingpin operating around the Dansadau axis of the vast Kuyambana Forest, Ali Kachalla, was the one responsible for the recent shooting down of a Nigeria Air Force (NAF) Alpha Jet, Daily Trust can report.
When the military jet was downed through the use of heavy artillery power on June 18, no details were available about the incident from both official and unofficial sources and nothing much came out since then.
While the action was expectedly attributed to bandits, the catchword for the armed criminals controlling large swathes of rural Zamfara, Niger, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto and Kebbi States, it was unclear who among the several kingpins straddling the area were responsible for downing the aircraft.
But talking to locals, security personnel and other persons with the understanding of happenings in the areas troubled by rural banditry, Daily Trust gathered that Ali Kachalla, a shrewd terrorist with hideout in Kuyambana was the mastermind of the monumental operation.
Kachalla, originally a chieftaincy title in the Kanuri language, is widely used as an honorific for bandits’ leaders in the North-West.
The fighter jet was brought down by men of Kachalla’s gang near Kabaru village, located some 15 km west of Dansadau town.
Spokesperson for the NAF, Edward Gabkwet, in a statement released at the time said the aircraft was attacked while returning from an air interdiction mission between the boundaries of Zamfara and Kaduna States.
An armoured personnel carrier burnt down by Ali Kachalla’s men in Dansadau
While nothing was heard or seen of the ill-fated aircraft, the Air Force released pictures of the pilot, Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo, who successfully ejected from the aircraft.
It was reported that Dairo ran for his life and was saved by locals who ferried him to Dansadau from where he was evacuated by an Air Force helicopter.
Shooting down the NAF jet might be Kachalla’s most daring exploit yet, but for residents in the troubled Dansadau district, his name has been on their lips especially in recent times. He has carried out series of brutal attacks on communities in the district and is known to take special interest in ambushing military personnel.
