Bandits kill 12 farmers in Katsina attack

Gunmen, locally called bandits, on Tuesday, killed 12 farmers in Gakurdi village of Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina state

Three people sustained injuries during the attack.

Gakurdi is in Daddara ward and a few kilometres away from Daddara on the highway that links Katsina to Maradi in the Niger Republic.

A resident of Daddara, Bashir Salihu, said all the slain farmers were from Gakurdi and they were preparing their farm ahead of the rainy season.

“What I learnt is that the residents went to clear and prepare their farms for the start of the planting season, which is usually during the outset of the rainy season.

” The bandits went to the village on motorcycles and upon sighting the farmers, started shooting indiscriminately. I don’t know if they had planned to attack the farmers or the village,” he said.

He said some houses were also burnt down by the bandits after villagers fled.

Those killed have been buried this afternoon in the village.

Police react

When contacted, the police spokesman in the state, Gambo Isa, confirmed the attack.

He said eight gunmen on four motorcycles carried out the bloody attack.

“We were there with the CP (police commissioner) and attended the burial. What happened was that the bandits stormed the village this morning (Tuesday) and started shooting sporadically. The villages started running for their lives and all the 12 people killed were all shot in farms outside the community,” he said.

Mr Isa said some of the residents have guns but only a young boy stood his ground and shot back at the bandits.

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Katsina is one of the states in Nigeria’s North-west region that have come under heavy attacks by gunmen. The bandits attack communities, rustle cattle and abduct travellers and students for ransom.

They also impose taxes and levies on communities before allowing them to farm or harvest the produce of their farms.

These bandits have been blamed for killing thousands of people. They have also abducted many more in what is shaping to become one of the worst kidnap-for-ransom syndicates in the history of the country.

The state governor, Aminu Masari, Monday afternoon, confessed that the people of the state have suffered immensely due to incessant bandits’ activities.