Bandits kill two, abduct six in Katsina

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Two people have been killed and six others abducted in Unguwar Aminu in the Kandarawa Ward of Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State.

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Four other residents sustained gunshot wounds during the attack, which occurred on Tuesday night, according to a Daily Trust report.

The newspaper identified those killed as Ibrahim Sama’ila and Mashakuru Isa. Their remains were buried according to Islamic rites on Wednesday morning.

Three men and three women were among those abducted, while the four injured residents were taken to hospital for treatment.

The attackers also reportedly rustled livestock and looted shops, taking away cash, mobile phones and other valuables.

Residents told Daily Trust that the armed men had earlier been sighted moving eastward from Doma in Faskari Local Government Area before disappearing and later emerging in Unguwar Aminu.

PREMIUM TIMES has not independently verified the casualty and abduction figures.

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The attack adds to a series of raids on communities in Bakori since late July, some of which have resulted in killings, mass abductions, livestock theft and the displacement of residents.

It is also the second reported attack in Kandarawa Ward in less than three weeks.

On 24 July, suspected bandits attacked Unguwar Dangida in Kandarawa Ward and Gangaren Makurdi in neighbouring Jargaba Ward.

One person was reportedly killed in Unguwar Dangida, while livestock was taken from both communities, PREMIUM TIMES reported on 3 August.

Attacks persist despite security operations
The latest violence comes after a major confrontation between suspected bandits and security forces in Guga, another Bakori community, on 26 July.

The Katsina State Government said more than 200 armed attackers invaded Guga at about 5.40 p.m. in what it described as a reprisal attack.

According to the government’s statement on the Guga attack, joint security personnel killed more than 40 suspected bandits, including commanders, while five hunters were killed during the confrontation.

The government subsequently said normalcy had been restored in the affected communities.

But attacks continued in surrounding communities in the days that followed.

On 31 July, suspected bandits attacked Unguwar Dogo and Alhazawa, also known as Gidan Nagari. One resident was reportedly seriously injured, while cattle and other property were taken.

Residents subsequently fled Unguwar Dogo, with some moving to Bakori and Funtua towns and others taking refuge in neighbouring communities, according to PREMIUM TIMES’ earlier report.

The following night, 1 August, armed attackers invaded Shuwaki in Jargaba Ward, killing one person, injuring at least seven others and abducting 32 residents.

One of the abducted women, who was ill and unable to continue the forced journey, was later released, leaving 31 people in captivity at the time PREMIUM TIMES reported the attack. Most of the captives were women, some carrying infants.

Aminu Magaji, a former chairman of Bakori Local Government Area, told JBC Hausa after the Shuwaki attack that police officers, soldiers and members of the Katsina Community Watch Corps attempted to block the attackers’ escape routes but were unable to prevent them from leaving with the captives.

Mr Magaji said security personnel deployed in at least five vehicles during the response.

“The security personnel went there and made every effort, but they could not overpower them and stop them from taking the people away,” he said.

The whereabouts of the 31 residents who remained in captivity after the Shuwaki attack could not immediately be established.

Other attacks documented by PREMIUM TIMES included a 25 July raid on Rawul in Kurami/Yankwani Ward, where two brothers were reportedly killed and nine residents, including eight women, abducted.

PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify the casualty and abduction figures from all the incidents reported by community sources.

Questions over repeated attacks
The recurrence of attacks across Kandarawa, Jargaba, Kurami/Yankwani and surrounding communities raises questions about the movement of armed groups through the area despite recent security operations.

The available evidence does not establish that the same armed group carried out all the attacks or that they are using a single route.

However, accounts of successive attacks across nearby settlements, coupled with the latest report that the Unguwar Aminu attackers had earlier been sighted around Doma in neighbouring Faskari LGA, raise questions about the forest routes and access corridors available to the armed groups and the extent to which security deployments have restricted their movement.

The latest raid also adds six more reported captives to an abduction burden already confronting communities in Bakori.

It remained unclear whether security personnel responded while the Unguwar Aminu attack was underway, whether the attackers were pursued after leaving the community, or whether any of the six abducted residents had been rescued.

Repeated attacks have also affected farming and other livelihoods in the area.

In the aftermath of the Shuwaki attack, Mr Magaji said livestock theft had deprived farmers of cattle traditionally used for cultivation, forcing residents to farm manually.

He warned that continued attacks could force more people to abandon their communities.

“If they attack one village today and displace it, they move to another village tomorrow,” he said.

“If nothing is done, people will leave this entire area and abandon their communities.”