Our People Can No Longer Live In Villages Over Relentless Attacks – Katsina Lawmaker

The lawmaker representing Malumfashi constituency in the State House of Assembly, Hon. Aminu Ibrahim, has said his constituents can no longer live in their communities because of constant attacks by bandits.

He revealed that bandits massacred 30 worshippers and burnt 20 others alive in attacks on Gidan Adamu Mantau, Unguwar Yar Mai Dabo, Makera in Karfi Ward, and Burdigau in Yaba Ward.

A visibly shaken, Ibrahim narrated on the floor of the House how villagers had raised an alarm about suspicious bandit movements around Burdigau between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday. Still, soldiers only arrived much later and withdrew without securing the area.

By dawn on Tuesday, the gunmen stormed Unguwar Mantau, killing 30 worshippers during morning prayers.

“The situation has become unbearable. Our people can no longer live in their villages because of these relentless attacks,” Ibrahim cried, urging the government to establish permanent security bases in Karfi and Yaba Wards.

His emotional outburst drew murmurs from fellow lawmakers, who expressed dismay over the growing bloodshed despite ongoing military operations.

Meanwhile, asurvivor of the series of attacks in Malunfashi, Katsina State, which has led to the killing of over 50 people in two days in mosques, Alhaji Umar Usman has calimed that the bandits carrying out the killings were on reprisals

Usman told LEADERSHIP that the locals had resisted the bandits last week, only for them to regroup and return to the community with more vicious weapons.

Narrating how the incident happened, Usman said, while grieving, “We were praying when they attacked us. Only three people survived in the mosque, while 18 were killed there. In total, 24 have been killed, 13 houses burnt, and about 50 people, mostly women and children, abducted.”

Katsina State has been thrown into mourning following a wave of coordinated bandits’ attacks that claimed over 50 lives, left 50 people abducted, and reduced 33 houses to ashes in Malumfashi local government area.

24 Killed, 50 Abducted In Kankara

In a related attack, residents of Gidan Mai Farin Kai in the same Malumfashi local government area reported the killing of 24 people, the abduction of 50 others, and the burning of 13 houses in the early hours of yesterday.

Eyewitnesses said bandits stormed the community during early morning prayers, shooting sporadically and setting homes ablaze. About 18 worshippers were killed inside the mosque, while others died from gunshot wounds and fire injuries.

Alhaji Umar Usman, a resident, described the incident as a reprisal attack after locals resisted bandits last week.

“We have not seen any help or intervention from the government or well-meaning individuals. The community watch corps only spends a few minutes and leaves. We need soldiers permanently stationed here until peace is restored,” Usman pleaded.

Residents lament that Gidan Mai Farin Kai, with a population of over 20,000 and a major contributor to the local economy, has long been neglected regarding security and infrastructure. They noted that the community road has remained inaccessible since 1999 despite being only seven kilometres from Mararaba Kankara.

Both Malumfashi and Kankara now live in what residents describe as a “daily war of survival,” with families fleeing ancestral homes, communities deserted, and young men staying behind to defend their villages with crude weapons.

As the killings mount, citizens are calling on the state and federal governments to act decisively and deploy permanent military formations in the most vulnerable areas before more lives are lost.