16 Killed As Bandits Attack Katsina Community

No fewer than 16 people have been feared dead at the weekend following a bandit attack on Kiliya village, near Bagagadi in Dutsinma local government area of Katsina State.

Residents said the attack occurred on Friday afternoon shortly after Juma’at prayers when villagers had gathered in groups to celebrate the Eid-el-Kabir.

Eyewitnesses said the attackers arrived on motorcycles and opened fire indiscriminately on residents.

A survivor said, “After the Friday prayers, we were relaxing and discussing when we saw two armed men on a motorcycle. People started running, but the attackers ordered everyone to stop. Moments later, they began shooting. I hid inside a nearby house with a local drinks vendor. When the shooting stopped and we came out, we found about 16 people lying dead, including some of my relatives.”

He added that many residents had fled the village, with many seeking refuge in neighbouring Bagagadi and Radda communities. Several villagers were also reported missing at the time of filing this report.

Sources in the area said some victims were killed while working on their farms, and corpses were recovered from farmlands surrounding the village.

Another eyewitness said more gunmen arrived shortly after the first attack, intensifying the assault and spreading terror across the community.

A resident of Bagagadi village disclosed that more than 30 displaced persons, mostly women and children from Kiliya, were taking shelter in his home following the attack.

Community sources suggested the incident may have been a reprisal attack. According to them, two suspected bandits were reportedly killed by villagers earlier in the week, an action believed to have provoked the armed group.

“From what happened, it appears to be a revenge attack. Two suspected bandits were reportedly killed a few days ago, and they were said to belong to a notorious gang. That may have prompted this assault on the village,” a source said.

When contacted, the spokesman of the Katsina State Police Command, DSP Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu, said the command had yet to receive an official report on the incident but promised to provide updates once details were available.

The attack is the latest in a series of violent incidents linked to banditry in Katsina State, where rural communities continue to face security challenges despite ongoing efforts by security agencies to curb criminal activities.