A local government official was killed and a former council vice chairman kidnapped by armed gangs in the Malumfashi Local Government Area (LGA) of Katsina State on Thursday evening.
The assailants reportedly shot the local government employee, known as Aminu “Over-Over”, at his farm.
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They also abducted Nasiru Dayi, a former councillor and vice chairman of the Malumfashi LGA from his home in Dayi town between 7 and 8 p.m., in what residents described as a terrifying, hours-long rampage.
Locals told PREMIUM TIMES the attacks began in the late afternoon as a large group of gunmen moved into the area around 4 p.m.
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After raiding the settlements of Gidan Boro and Tuge, they invaded Dayi around 8 p.m., shortly after the evening Maghrib prayer.
A local shopkeeper, Baba Danladi, said he had just returned home when the assault began.
“Not even 10 minutes after I got back, I started hearing different kinds of gunshots,” he recounted. “I knew the ‘oga boss’ were in town. Last night was terrible,” he noted.
According to residents, the incident was the latest in attacks that have become near-daily. The gangs, referred to locally as bandits, have become so audacious that they now operate in daylight, earning them the nickname ‘Solar’.
“Even now as we speak, they are hovering around in nearby villages,” a community elder said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
“Hardly any two days pass by in the last two weeks without an attack. They now work in the daytime, unafraid.” However, he claimed that the recent surge was aided by the tall growth of crops on farms, which provides cover for the gunmen.
Attacks across several communities have left residents in heightened fear. “In this area (referring to Malumfashi LGA axis), there is hardly any time we can say we are free,” another resident, Mustapha Ahmed, said.
“Even if they don’t attack us in Dayi, they attack neighbouring communities. The worst part is when they attack freely during the day.”
Mr Mustapha recalled a chilling incident two days earlier in the nearby village of Ungwar Bugaw, Dayi District on the road to Tuge, where gunmen, frustrated at not finding any cattle to steal, shot the elderly community head (Mai Ungwar) in the hand.
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One of the assailants was quoted as saying: “We won’t leave this village without putting a mark to signify our presence here.”
PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the long-term effect of this insecurity has resulted in the slow desertion of Dayi by prominent residents. They now only return for brief visits to check on businesses and families.
Official report clashes with reality
The deadly assault in Malumfashi appears to contradict a recent security assessment released by the Katsina State Government.
In the “Katsina Security Tracker,” published by the state’s Ministry of Internal Security, Malumfashi is categorised as “Improved”, a status defined as having only “minimal insecurity in remote pockets” with “significant progress observed.”
The report claims that over 87 per cent of the state’s local government areas are either fully stabilised or improving.
However, Thursday’s attacks paint a different picture. The testimonies from residents describing near-daily attacks across multiple communities suggest a security situation far more severe than the official report indicates, revealing a significant gap between the government’s narrative and the lived reality of communities still under siege.
Sadiq Abubakar, the Katsina police spokesperson, did not respond to text messages and WhatsApp chats seeking his comments for this report.
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