I’d wondered what the sudden kidnapping bandits was all about, so I asked the internet. It yielded a Daily Trust report from last December and a slightly hysterical piece published in The Herald in 2019, the author of which could use a strong dose of smelling salts. I’ve given only key bits of the Herald piece, as the torrent of adjectives coupled with blithe insouciance with regard to verb conjugation grates.
[DailyTrust] Following the abductions of hundreds of Katsina schoolboys on Friday by bandidos in Kankara Local Government, attention has turned to Rugu Forest, an expanse of woods, hills and caves where bandidos terrorising the northwest have found a safe haven. Our sources tell us the nature of the forest and reveal, for the first time, the name of one of the bandit kings who have carved an empire in the wilderness of Katsina.The dreaded Rugu Forest that serves as hideout for bandidos terrorising, Katsina, Zamfara and Kaduna states is estimated to span over 220km, stretching from the Niger Republic and spreading into a substantial part of Katsina State of Nigeria.
In Katsina, the forest cuts across the seven local governments of Jibia, Safana, Batsari, Danmusa, Sabuwa, Dandume, Faskari. In each of the place it passes, it is called by a different name but generally, it is called Rugu, after a community in Safana LGA.