The police have repelled suspected bandits, believed to be armed terrorists that launched an attack on residents of Tijjani Malumfashi Housing Estate in  Mallumfashi Local Government of Katsina State.

Investigation by The Nation revealed that the criminals in their large numbers descended on the area around 11pm on Sunday, wielding dangerous weapons and firing indiscriminately from various locations before initiating house-to-house operations.

The hoodlums abducted six residents of the area, restraining them with tied hands and blindfolding them with clothes before security operatives could move to the scene.

However, the swift response of security forces managed to thwart the attack, rescuing all the kidnapped victims after an intense hour-long gun battle.

The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Malumfashi, along with a team of policemen, Army personnel, and the vigilante group, successfully repelled the attack.

There was an intense exchange of gunfire between the hoodlums and security personnel for over an hour before the gunmen retreated. Unfortunately, one of the victims, a prominent businessman known as Alhaji Zaharaddeen or Danmaliki, sustained gunshot wounds during the encounter and is currently receiving treatment at the General Hospital in Kwandala, Malumfashi,” the source disclosed.

The State Police Spokesman, ASP Aliyu Abubakar, confirmed the incident, stating that the police have initiated an investigation into the attack.

Meanwhile Governor Dikko Umaru Radda has saluted the gallantry of the Malumfashi Divisional Police Officer, DPO, troops of the Nigerian Army and members of a vigilante group, who foiled an attack on residents of the Tijjani Malumfashi Housing Estate, on Saturday.

Residents of the Estate in Malumfashi Local Government Area over the weekend were attacked by kidnappers. The criminals had invaded the Estate to kidnap its residents.

Commending the Malumfashi DPO, Bello Umar, and Nigerian Army soldiers, together with local vigilantes who repelled the attack, Governor Radda, underscored the need for security agencies in the country to regularly conduct joint operations, to tackle insurgents, bandits and other criminal elements, holding the country to ransom.

He noted that the response operation, successfully carried out by the Malumfashi police team, and military troops, in concert with local vigilantes in the popular Katsina town, is one notable act of gallantry that other security personnel across the State, should strive to also emulate.

Culled from TheNation