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Claim: A Facebook page, Spy Nigeria, claimed that notorious bandit Kachalla Haire was killed in a fresh military operation along the Bungudu–Gusami–Gusau axis in Zamfara State.
Verdict: Insufficient evidence. Reports published in May 2026 said Kachalla Haire was killed during a clash between rival bandit factions. However, there is no conclusive evidence establishing whether he survived that incident or was killed during the reported September operation. The Nigerian military, whose operation was linked to the latest claim, said it had not confirmed Haire’s death.
Full Text
On Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, the Facebook page, Spy Nigeria, shared a post claiming that notorious Zamfara bandit leader Kachalla Haire, also known as “Mala’ikan Mada,” had been killed in a recent military operation.
The post (archived here) claimed that Haire was “eliminated” alongside dozens of other bandits around Bungudu, along the Gusami-Gusau axis, after the group reportedly went out for an operation the previous day.
It further claimed that bullets badly disfigured Haire and that his colleagues brought him home in a tattered condition, where he reportedly died.
The post featured a photograph of Haire holding a firearm, with the word “ELIMINATED” superimposed across the centre of the image.
As of Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, the post had attracted 382 reactions, 141 comments and 38 shares.
While some commenters welcomed the reported killing, others expressed doubts about the claim. Stephen Ademola, for instance, wrote, “I’ve heard several times about this guy’s elimination. I hope he will not reappear like the ninja in a movie.”
Another commenter, Sankey Jumbo, endorsed the claim. He wrote, “You sounded well. That’s taken them one after the other, together with those in the corridor of authority.”
Similar claims were also found in other Facebook posts here, here and here.
Because the claim attributed Haire’s reported death to a recent military operation, DUBAWA examined available reports on his alleged previous death and sought confirmation from security authorities involved in the operation.
Verification
DUBAWA found that reports of Kachalla Haire’s death had circulated months before the September claim.
On May 10, 2026, counter-insurgency publication Zagazola Makama reported that Haire, also known as “Mala’ikan Mada,” had been killed on May 8 during a clash between rival armed groups in Zamfara State.
According to the report, security sources said the clash was triggered by disagreements over the distribution of arms and valuables linked to a deceased gang leader.
The May report was subsequently echoed by other media outlets here, here, here and here. Reports of the alleged death were also circulated on X by security tracker Bakatsine (@DanKatsina50) and Daily Post Nigeria.
However, the existence of those May reports does not by itself establish that Haire was dead when the September operation allegedly took place. DUBAWA searched for credible reports showing that Haire survived the May clash and subsequently resumed activities, but found no conclusive evidence establishing either that he survived or that he was active before the September incident.
The uncertainty became more significant after Daily Post Nigeria published another report on September 2 titled “Notorious bandit commander Kachalla Haire reportedly killed in Zamfara,” presenting the reported killing as a fresh development. The report did not reference the newspaper’s earlier report on Haire’s alleged death in May.
DUBAWA therefore sought confirmation from the Zamfara State Police Command through its spokesperson, DSP Yazid Abubakar. Calls and messages sent to the spokesperson were unanswered at the time of publication, and no statement confirming the reported killing was found on the command’s official handles.
We also contacted the Coordinator of Defence Media Operations, Major General Michael Onoja, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, because the September claim specifically attributed Haire’s alleged death to a military operation.
In his initial response, Maj. Gen. Onoja confirmed that troops had engaged some of the bandits in the area but could not establish whether Haire was among those hit.
“We hit some of them, but we don’t know if he was among them. But the operation happened around the area described by the online story,” he said.
He added that Haire’s death could not be fully verified at that time and that the military was monitoring the situation.
DUBAWA subsequently contacted Maj. Gen. Onoja again on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, to determine whether the military had obtained any further information from troops involved in the operation.
In his second response, he said there was still no confirmation of Haire’s death.
“Sincerely, no confirmation yet,” he said, adding that the bandits were in an inaccessible area that military vehicles could not reach.
He said troops remained in the area and had cut the bandits off from supplies, adding that the military would communicate any new developments.
The military’s second response therefore did not confirm that Haire had been killed in the September operation. At the same time, it did not establish that he survived the operation.
Conclusion
There is no sufficient evidence to support the claim that Kachalla Haire was killed during a fresh military operation in Zamfara on Sept. 2, 2026. Reports from May 2026 alleged that Haire was killed during a clash between rival bandit factions. However, DUBAWA found no conclusive evidence establishing whether he was truly killed in May or survived that incident and remained active until September.
More importantly, the Nigerian military, which was identified as the force involved in the latest operation, said it had not confirmed Haire’s death. A follow-up inquiry to the military also produced no confirmation, with troops still monitoring the area where the bandits were reportedly located.
This fact-check was produced as part of the DUBAWA fellowship, implemented by CJID with support from the European Union.