May 4, 2024

At least twenty four persons are said to have been killed and several others wounded in a fresh bandits attack on Unguwar Sarkin Noma Community in Sabuwa Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Those killed were mostly vigilante members who reportedly came out to confront the bandits.

Local Security official told Channels Television that during the attack which lasted for about an hour, four villages were raided by the hoodlums in what he described as reprisals over military offensives on the bandits hideouts.

He explained that the hoodlums stormed the villages of Unguwar Sarkin Noma, Gangara, Tafi and Kore on Thursday night at about 9:00 PM shooting sporadically to scare the residents.

The Chairman of Sabuwa Local Government Council, Faruq Dalhatu, on a telephone call, said 23 of the victims were buried in accordance with the Islamic rites on Friday morning after the attack which took place on Thursday night.

He added that the last victim was also conveyed for burial from the hospital after he was certified dead.

“Upon hearing of the bandits mission to attack the Local Government Council, we swung into action by informing virtually all the security agencies.

“They (security agencies) all responded to our distress call and availed themselves to the community. Before you know it, the Bandits raided the community and killed these people.

“23 people were buried from the beginning, in accordance with Islamic rites and the last victim was conveyed from the hospital after he was certified dead,” he added.

Police authorities are yet to make comment on the attack as phone calls put through the spokesman of the State Police Command, ASP Abubakar Sadiq, were unanswered.

Sabuwa is among eight most vulnerable security frontline Local Government Areas in Katsina State where activities of bandits are on the increase almost on daily basis.

Banditry now ‘business venture’
Meanwhile, the Governor of Katsina State, Dikko Radda, has said that banditry has now turned into a “business venture.”

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Governor Radda accused some security personnel and government officials of aiding banditry.

“Now it has turned out to be a business venture. A business venture for the criminals, some people who are in government; and some people who are in security outfits, and some people who are responsible for the day-to-day activities of their people. These are so many reasons why we are unable to bring banditry to an end,” he said.

Criminal gangs known locally as bandits have, in recent years, repeatedly raided places mostly in rural areas in the northern region, abducting many and killing others.