From Zaharaddeen Ishaq Abubakar, Katsina Times. 25 June 2024

Since the brutal attack by kidnappers for ransom in Maidabino town, Danmusa Local Government Area, Katsina State, on Saturday, 23 June, the residents have been plunged into a dire state of fear, hunger, and uncertainty.

The terrorists, who invaded the town on the evening of that Saturday, wreaked havoc for over six hours without any intervention from security personnel. They burned down houses and shops selling essential goods, killed nine people, and kidnapped around 100 women and children. They also looted a significant amount of property before retreating to the forest.

They broke into food storage facilities, looted some and set others on fire. Even chemist shops were not spared. Furthermore, they burned bags of fertiliser that the town's people had stored for farming. The house of the Danmusa Local Government Secretary was also set ablaze along with all its contents, and the assailants went through the neighbourhoods setting houses on fire.

Forty-eight hours after this horrendous attack, the residents of Maidabino told Katsina Times about the severe hardship they are enduring. There is no food or medicine, and they cannot buy food to cook because the shops have been burned down. They also cannot leave the town to buy food elsewhere because of the danger. One resident noted that hunger might soon grip the town if the situation does not improve.

The residents stated that they cannot leave the town without the escort of security personnel, but there are no such personnel available to escort them. Amidst this distress, on Monday evening, the bandits returned and started shooting indiscriminately. However, this time, soldiers arrived to help and managed to drive them away. It is unclear if there were any casualties on either side as the reporters were in hiding and could not verify the situation accurately.

Katsina State and other North-Western states of Nigeria are grappling with a persistent crisis of armed banditry and kidnapping, which shows no sign of abating. This severe problem has prompted the North-Western Governors' Forum, the Federal Government, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to organise a major two-day security summit. The summit, which commenced on Monday and was opened by Nigeria's Vice President Mr Kashim Shettima on behalf of President Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu, brings together all security sectors in Nigeria to discuss and find solutions to the insecurity issue, particularly in the states of Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Kaduna.

The summit is being held in Katsina, the state capital, under the leadership of Malam Dikko Umar Radda, Governor of Katsina State and Chairman of the North-Western Governors' Forum.