Terrorists abduct residents going to church in Katsina

Terrorists attacked Jan Tsuni in Gidan Haruna, of Kankara local government area of Katsina State on Sunday and abducted residents going to a church in the community.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the abducted residents were going to the New Life For All Church, around 10:00 a.m. when the terrorists attacked the community on motorcycles and took the residents hostage.

A security agent in Kankara local government, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the incident, said five residents were taken while the pastor of the church and one other person were wounded.

“I don’t know where you got your number from, but what we’ve officially is five residents,” he said.

He said they were taken while walking to the church while the pastor was wounded as he tried to escape.

“No. It’s the same community. As they were going to church, the bandits entered the village and started picking residents,” he said.

The Senior Special Assistant to the state governor on Christian Affairs, Ishaya Jurau, confirmed the attack to PREMIUM TIMES in a phone conversation but said security agents are trying to rescue the victims.

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He, however, said he would not reveal the actual number of those abducted to this reporter.

“I’m in contact with some of our people on the ground. I can confirm to you that some residents were abducted while a Pastor was wounded by the terrorists this morning. The security agents are doing their best to rescue those taken,” he said.

The police spokesperson in the state, Gambo Isa, could not be reached for comment. He did not respond to calls and sms sent to him as of the time this report was filed.

Katsina, like many North-west states and a part of the North-central region, has been witnessing a series of terrorist attacks leading to the death of hundreds of thousands of people and the displacement of millions of others.