At least six people have been killed and more than 130 others abducted in a wave of coordinated attacks by bandits on several communities in Sabuwa Local Government Area of Katsina State over a three-day period this week.
According to a Daily Trust report, the attackers struck multiple villages, carrying out house-to-house operations, looting property, and whisking away residents in large numbers.
Residents said the deadliest assault occurred on Sunday night in Dankurmi, a community near Damari road, where the gunmen reportedly operated for at least four hours. Four people, including a toddler, were killed while 79 others were abducted during the raid. The toddler’s mother was said to be hospitalised after sustaining gunshot wounds.
“In some houses, they kidnapped husbands, wives and children; in others, only women and children were taken. They also went away with motorcycles, foodstuff and other valuables,” a resident told Daily Trust, adding that the number of abductees across affected villages could be as high as 200.
Those killed were identified as Maharazu Sani, Awusu Shafi’u, Saminu Ibrahim, and the unnamed toddler.
Another resident said Gamji village also came under attack, where two people were killed and 31 abducted. Twenty-seven others were reported kidnapped at Tsaunin Jino, while several more were taken from Unguwar Goje, Unguwar Sani and Zagi-Zagi communities.
Efforts by Daily Trust to get comments from elected officials representing Sabuwa, including the local government chairman and lawmakers, were unsuccessful. However, a senior government official from the area, who asked not to be named, confirmed the incidents. He said local stakeholders had met with the state government to seek urgent intervention.
“It is true, all those attacks happened within three days. From our count, four were killed in Dankurmi and 74 kidnapped. At Gamji, 31 were abducted and two killed. The bandits also raided other villages, but I don’t have the figures yet,” the official said.
He further explained that the fresh wave of violence might be linked to pressure from the bandits, who had earlier proposed a peace deal to allow farmers cultivate their fields without fear of attack. Community leaders, however, had yet to accept or reject the arrangement.
“All these recent attacks were an attempt to force us into the peace deal,” the official said, recalling that bandits had previously attacked a military formation in Dankolo, killing three soldiers and burning three patrol vehicles. Following that incident, the army withdrew personnel from two key locations, a move residents believe has given the attackers freer access to their communities.
The official appealed to the state government and military authorities to redeploy soldiers to their former positions in order to curb the renewed attacks.
