Terrorists have abducted more than 15 residents of Zangon in the Kankara area of Katsina State and demanded a ransom of N150 million for their release.
Residents told PREMIUM TIMES that the terrorists attacked the community on Saturday and Sunday and abducted mostly women and children.
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Though the terrorists operating in the northwest have killed hundreds of people, ransom has always been the main motivation for their attacks.
“The bandits had earlier abducted two people from this community before their attack on Saturday and Sunday. We have many people in their hands,” a resident of the community, who teaches in a secondary school in Kankara town, told this reporter over the phone. He sought anonymity for security reasons.
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The source said after the abduction, the terrorists called the family members of one of the men abducted and told them “to inform the community that they (terrorists) would release all the captives for N150 million.”
Another source, who gave his name as Usman, said he has evacuated his parents from the village to Kankara.
“I can’t count the number of time they (terrorists) attacks this community. This money, they are calling, who has this sort of money here? So, when people began leaving, I took my parents to join me in the two-bedroom house I’m renting in Kankara,” he told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday.
He said several residents of the community have left in fear of possible attacks.
Asked whether the ransom would be paid, the teacher, a community leader, said, “We are discussing with all community stakeholders to decide what to do next.”
The abduction occurred two days after the Zone 14 Assistant Inspector General of Police, based in Katsina, Bello Shehu, ordered police commissioners in Katsina and Kaduna to crack down on bandits.
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“The AIG has directed Commissioners of Police within the Zone to deploy specialised tactical units to assert operational dominance, dismantle criminal organisations, and maintain a visible and sustained policing presence across all identified high-risk locations within the affected states.
“All tactical units have been placed on red alert and directed to maintain continuous patrols across forested regions, rural communities, major highways, places of worship, and other public venues. Supervisory officers have been explicitly directed to ensure discipline, operational effectiveness, and accountability among personnel,” Umar Mohammed, the Zone 14 spokesperson, said in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES.
The North-west region is facing a complex security crisis that began as a farmer-herder conflict.
Armed terrorists, commonly referred to as bandits, have over the years attacked communities, leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and the displacement of over one million.
