Bandits in Katsina kill 9, kidnap several, cart away valuables
Nine people have been killed in a bandit attack on Danmusa town, the headquarters of Danmusa Local Government Area of Katsina State.
The gunmen reportedly attacked the town around 8 pm on Sunday, killing nine people including a policeman.
A resident of the town, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the bandits operated for hours, and also kidnapped an unknown number of people, wounded several others, and conducted house-to-house raids, where they stole valuables.
“As I speak to you, there are security agents shooting guns,” the resident added.
Another source in the town said that two of the deceased victims were his neighbours and that the policeman was killed due to identifying himself as a law enforcement official.
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The resident also shared that seven people were kidnapped and aren’t yet accounted for. “We are currently preparing their bodies for funeral,” he said.
Unconfirmed sources in the community said the attackers might be on a reprisal mission as one of the bandits’ leaders was captured and killed by the newly commissioned community watch corps in the local government.
He said: “There was a bandits kingpin close to Katsira village who boasted that he would eliminate the new community watch corps. They mobilized and killed him in the process.
“It was a few days ago, and that is why we strongly believe that his boys mobilized to carry out this attack.”
The police spokesman in Katsina, ASP Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu, who confirmed the last night attack, said five persons were killed.