Police kill suspected bandits in attack on Katsina villages

The police say three bandits were killed on Tuesday as officers repelled an attack on two villages in Dutsima Local Government Area of Katsina State.

The state commissioner of police, Sanusi Buba, stated this at a press briefing in Katsina on Wednesday.

Mr Buba said the police recovered two AK-47 rifles with 15 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition from the bandits.

He said the police responded to distress calls from community members, and deployed officers who engaged the suspected bandits in a fight that lasted from 2 a.m. till dawn on Tuesday.

Mr Buba said the police area commander of Dutsima, Aminu Umar, led his team to the area after callers said about 50 bandits on motorcycles were shooting sporadically in Unguwar Bera and Tashar Mangoro villages in Dutsima LGA.

“The police team engaged the hoodlums at a spot between Mara and Tashar Gajere villages,” Mr Buba said.

“Fortunately, the bandits were entrapped and the team had an upper hand, neutralised three bandits and recovered two AK-47 rifles with 15 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition,” the commissioner told journalists.

He said the police were still conducting a search of the area for injured bandits and their weapons.

The North-west state, where President Muhammadu Buhari hails from, has been rocked by insecurity especially attacks by bandits in recent months.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how 333 students were kidnapped in the state in December 2020 while Mr Buhari was on a private visit to his hometown. The students were later released after negotiations by the federal government.