Bandits St0rm Naming Ceremony, K!ll Two, ∆bduct 13
Bandits Storm Naming Ceremony, Kill Two, Abduct 13
Security expert Bakatsine disclosed the development in a report on Friday, describing the incident as another sign of persistent insecurity in communities within the area despite efforts to broker peace with armed groups.
Gunmen suspected to be bandits on Thursday attacked a naming ceremony in Unguwar Daudu village in Mahuta ward of Dandume Local Government Area of Katsina State, killing two people and abducting at least 13 others.
Security expert Bakatsine disclosed the development in a report on Friday, describing the incident as another sign of persistent insecurity in communities within the area despite efforts to broker peace with armed groups.
“Yesterday, gunmen suspected to be bandits attacked a naming ceremony in Unguwar Daudu village, Mahuta ward, Dandume LGA of Katsina State. They killed two people and abducted at least 13 people,” he said.
He further revealed that the attack occurred amid an existing peace agreement reportedly reached between local stakeholders in Dandume Local Government Area and bandit groups operating in the region.
Bakatsine also recounted a separate incident that occurred earlier in the week in the same community, involving a resident who had planned to embark on a religious pilgrimage.
“In a separate incident earlier this week, a man who had sold his properties to fund his Ramadan Umrah pilgrimage was reportedly kidnapped in the same community and later killed, his crime is possessing huge funds without bandits’ knowledge,” he said.
The security expert questioned the effectiveness of the reported peace arrangement with the armed groups, noting that communities continue to face violent attacks and abductions.
“This happened despite a peace agreement between local stakeholders in Dandume LGA and bandit groups,” he stated.
He also raised concerns about the continued violence and the motives behind the attacks.
“If a peace deal was already in place, why are communities still facing deadly attacks and abductions?” he asked.
Bakatsine further condemned attempts by some individuals to associate the activities of bandits with religion.
“And to those who label these bandits as Muslims, how can anyone claiming Islam justify killing a man simply because he sought to perform Umrah?” he added.
Residents of several communities in parts of Katsina State have in recent years faced repeated attacks, kidnappings and killings attributed to armed bandit groups operating in the region.
This latest attack comes despite an earlier agreed ‘peace deal’ between the Katsina government and bandits.
Earlier on Friday, SaharaReporters reported that suspected bandits carried out fresh attacks in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State, killing a community member and abducting several residents, including a cleric, despite a recent peace deal reached with armed groups ahead of the Ramadan fasting period.
SaharaReporters gathered that the first attack occurred around midnight on Thursday in Gangaren Mangwarori area of Kankara town when gunmen stormed the community.
Residents said the attackers abducted several villagers, including the community’s second imam (Na’ibi), Malam Jamilu Marabar Gurbi.
It was gathered that the cleric was on his way to the mosque for Subhi (Fajr) prayer after observing Sahoor, the early morning meal during Ramadan, when the gunmen intercepted and kidnapped him.
Attempts to reach the Katsina Police Public Relations Officer, Abubakar Aliyu, for comments on the latest wave of abductions in Dandume were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report, as he neither responded to a text message nor answered calls made to his official line.
