Terr0rists Defy Motorcycles Ban In Katsina, K!ll Seven Residents In Matazu Community

 

 

Terrorists Defy Motorcycles Ban In Katsina, Kill Seven Residents In Matazu Community

SaharaReporters gathered that the attack occurred on Thursday, according to sources familiar with the incident.

Terrorosts suspected to be bandits have killed at least seven people in the Matazu/Musawa axis of Matazu Local Government Area of Katsina State despite the state government’s security restrictions, SaharaReporters has learnt.

SaharaReporters gathered that the attack occurred on Thursday, according to sources familiar with the incident.

Residents said the victims have since been buried in accordance with Islamic rites.

The latest attack comes despite the government’s ban on telecommunications networks, motorcycle movement and the sale of petrol in jerrycans in parts of the area as part of efforts to curb banditry and restrict the movement of criminal groups.

However, SaharaReporters gathered that the restrictions have yet to stop deadly attacks in the affected communities, with armed assailants still operating in the Matazu/Musawa area.

The incident has further raised concerns over worsening insecurity in Katsina communities, where residents continue to face recurring attacks despite security measures imposed by the authorities.

Earlier, SaharaReporters reported that a displaced resident of Katsina State, identified as Aliyu Hassan, has recounted the horrifying moment bandits allegedly doused him with petrol and set him ablaze after attacking him on his farm in the Batagarawa Local Government Area.

Hassan, who spoke in Hausa in a video posted on X by security expert Bakatsine, narrated how he narrowly survived the brutal attack after rolling repeatedly on the ground until the fire eventually went out.

“They poured petrol on me and set me on fire, right on my head. They struck a match and lit it, then they just left,” Hassan said.
“I kept screaming for help and rolling on the ground, rolling and rolling in the sand. By God’s mercy, the fire eventually went out.”

The victim, now displaced and living in Katsina town, said he and his family have been unable to return to their village following repeated attacks by bandits.
“Now we are here in Katsina town. Honestly, we have not gone back home. We are staying in Sabon Layi, at a place where displaced people are sheltered. We don’t even have a proper place to stay,” he lamented.

According to Hassan, the incident happened while he was working on his farm during the farming season.

“I was on the farm working when the attackers came. I didn’t even notice they were coming,” he said.

“When I tried to run, they chased me. If I had tried to escape, they would have shot me, so I stopped. They stood there and demanded money and my phone, but I told them I didn’t have any.”
Hassan said the attackers insisted that “my father had money and that I should take them to our house.”

The victim explained that he informed the gunmen that his family had already been displaced from their community due to insecurity and that he only returned to cultivate his farmland because it was farming season.

“We had already been displaced before and driven from our homes. I explained that I had only come to work on the farm because it was farming season,” he said.

According to him, the attackers ignored his pleas and instead subjected him to severe torture.

“They said, ‘Then you are going to bathe.’ They dragged me to a nearby hut and tied me up. They tied my legs and hands, poured petrol on my head, struck a lighter, and set me ablaze before leaving,” he narrated.

Hassan said he screamed in agony while struggling desperately to survive.
“I screamed and rolled on the ground, rolling in the sand until, by God’s mercy, the fire went out,” he added.

He further disclosed that he would likely have died if not for the intervention of a stranger who later found him and rushed him to hospital.

“I was sitting there helpless when a kind man came and helped me. He lifted me up and took me into town to a hospital where they treated me,” he said.

“It was somewhere near Malumfashi. After the treatment there, they referred me to Katsina. We came to Katsina General Hospital, and after they told us to go to Batagarawa. When we got there, they said they could not handle it and referred us again to the medical centre.”

Hassan said after several failed attempts to secure proper treatment, some residents directed him to a traditional burns specialist in Kawari village.