Kidnapped title holder Dandada found dead after ransom

DDM News

Malam Sani Dandada, the traditional title holder known as the Madawakin Fawa of Faskari in Katsina State, has been found dead weeks after being kidnapped by armed bandits.

He was abducted on April 19, 2025, while returning from the ancient town of Daura, which is historically significant and home to Nigeria’s former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) confirms that Dandada’s family paid the full ransom demanded by the kidnappers in a desperate bid to secure his freedom.

Despite receiving the ransom, the abductors failed to release him and went ahead to kill him.

The confirmation of his tragic death came on Friday through a post by a security analyst known as Bakatsine on the social media platform X.

“Malam Sani Dandada, the Madawakin Fawa of Faskari who was kidnapped while returning from Daura on 19th April, was killed by the bandits after collecting ransom,” the post read.

Local authorities have yet to issue an official statement on the killing, and no suspects have been arrested so far.

Dandada was known for his role in promoting peace and development in the Faskari area of southern Katsina, where banditry has become a growing threat.

The incident has reignited fears across northern Nigeria, where kidnappings, killings, and extortion by bandit gangs have become a near-daily occurrence.

Security experts and residents are calling for tougher government action, arguing that ransom payments are no longer effective in securing the safe return of victims.

The brutal murder of the title holder has also revived public discourse around the long-standing warnings issued by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Kanu had consistently prophesied that Nigeria would descend into ungovernable chaos, driven by worsening insecurity, unchecked terrorism, and a breakdown of law enforcement.

In past broadcasts, he warned that Northern Nigeria would eventually be overrun by violence, and that even revered traditional rulers would not be spared by the storm of lawlessness.

Many Nigerians now see Dandada’s death as yet another eerie fulfillment of those grim prophecies.

Despite the federal government’s repeated assurances of tackling insecurity, armed groups continue to ravage communities, particularly in the North-West region.

The murder of a traditional title holder after ransom had been paid underscores the erosion of authority and the fear that grips local populations.

Kanu’s predictions, once dismissed as political rhetoric, are now being echoed even by non-supporters who say Nigeria is sliding deeper into a security crisis.

Calls are growing for the federal government to declare these bandit groups as terrorists and adopt more aggressive counter-insurgency measures.

As the people of Faskari mourn the loss of a respected leader, Nigerians across the country are left questioning who will be next, and whether anyone is truly safe anymore.

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