Katsina In Fresh Attacks Amid Bandits Release Plan

Katsina State has recorded fresh attacks on civilians even as the government prepares to initiate the release of many bandits held in custody as part of community-driven peace agreements.

Bandits were said to have attacked a wedding convoy at Unguwar Nagunda village in Kankara Local Government Area of the state and killed at least two guests on Sunday night.

The attack was said to have also led to 17 people, including the bride, being abducted and several others injured. Eight of the abductees later escaped and were reunited with their families on Monday.

One person was reportedly killed in another attack on Jaga village along the Kankara–Sheme Road, also in Kankara Local Government Area, on Sunday

The state’s Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Nasir Muazu, had, in an interview on Saturday, justified the government’s plan to facilitate the release of 70 persons facing trial for alleged involvement in banditry as part of efforts towards consolidating peace deals with armed groups operating across the state.

But in another interview with the BBC yesterday, the commissioner stated that the exact number of bandits to be released had not been determined.

He said the state government had set up reconciliation committees across local government areas to compile the names of detained bandits for review by the courts before any release is carried out.

Residents of Unguwar Nagunda village, who spoke in an interview yesterday, said the bandits targeted the wedding guests shortly after they arrived at Unguwar Nagunda.

A security source said security forces had been mobilised and “are currently combing various locations to rescue the remaining victims within Kankara and nearby isolated bushes across the state.

Daily Trust