Bandits Kill 9 Traders Returning From Market In Katsina

Gunmen suspected to be bandits have killed eight traders while returning from a weekly market in Jibia local government area of Katsina State.

The incident occurred along the Jibia-Batsari highway, around the hour of 6pm on Sunday, leaving nine persons dead with several other traders wounded, while two Peugeot J5 buses were also burnt by the attackers.

Investigation revealed that eight corpses of the victims were evacuated from the scene of the attack on Sunday night, while one of the passengers died later and another was declared missing.

A credible source said the terrorists opened fire on the vehicles when the drivers refused to stop, killing eight traders instantly.

A resident of Batsari, Muhammed Lawal, said, “As usual, the traders always leave Jibia market before 6pm because they wanted to reach home before Magrib (sunset) prayer. And as usual, the Jibia to Batsari road is always busy on Sunday, so the terrorists must have planned to abduct these traders but the drivers refused to stop.

“Several of the traders ran into the bush and walked home afterwards while the terrorists burnt down the two vehicles.”

The police spokesperson in the state, Abubakar Aliyu, was yet to make official statement on the attack as at the time of filing this report.