Suspected bandits have killed four persons and abducted at least 45 others in Maikuma village of Dandume local government area of Katsina State.
The attack occurred late Sunday night, when a large group of gunmen on motorcycles, armed with automatic weapons, stormed the community.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers moved from house to house, operating for several hours before fleeing into the nearby forest with their captives.
While the Katsina State Police Command’s spokesperson, DSP Abubakar Aliyu, was yet to comment on the incident officially, the chairman of Dandume LGA, Basiru Musa, confirmed the incident.
“The bandits came in large numbers, possibly over 100. Their aim was clearly to cause as much harm as possible,” Musa said. “They killed four people and abducted around 43 residents, though some reports suggest the number could be 45 or more.”
He said he had alerted both the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and the military commander in the area upon receiving intelligence of a possible attack.
Despite a swift response, security forces were unable to chase the bandits beyond their jurisdiction.
Musa expressed concern over the recurring attacks and urged authorities to bolster security measures to better protect vulnerable communities across the state.
As of the time of filing this report, concerned authorities were yet to make any official statement in this regard, but the state government has spent billions in empowering local youths to curtail the menace of banditry across the front-line local government areas of the state.
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