Three persons were killed, two kidnapped and an undisclosed number injured after an attack by bandits on villages in Dandume Local Government Area of Katsina State, witnesses said.
No fewer than 100 armed criminals stormed Maikwama village on Monday and killed unarmed locals, looting and burning their houses, witnesses told HumAngle on Monday.
“So far, three persons have been confirmed killed but the figure is not conclusive since many people are at large and no one knows their condition right now,” said Abba, a member of the community.
Abba said “several people were wounded in the attack and taken to the nearby hospital in Dandume town.
“They also took our cattle, sheep, and other livestock. The worst part of today’s attack was the way they destroyed our homes, broke our stores and looted our grains.”
Lawal Dandume, a local maize farmer, told HumAngle that the attackers warned the people against going to their farms.
“The group warned us not to go near our farms again and they also accused us of providing information about their activities and hideout to the military personnel,” Lawal said.
Dandume is Becoming Hotbed of Attacks
More than 500 women and children trooped to the Dandume town in an attempt to escape the increased daily attacks on their villages by armed criminals.
“We are witnessing another spike of the attacks,” said Shu’aibu Tahir, a resident of Dandume town.
“People are abandoning their homes and finding another place to accommodate them.
“Even today, I saw more than 500 women and children heading to a primary school that was already occupied by other villagers,” he said.
Wada, a local journalist based in Dandume, said, “Honestly speaking, we are in a trying moment. The security situation of Dandume and other neighbouring local government areas is serious.
“Farming which is mainly the major preoccupation of people in these places has been paralyzed. In fact, most villages within these local government areas are under the control of bandits.
“They could storm a village and spend hours without any help from the security agencies, this has undermined the socio-economic activities of the areas.”
The Monday attack came a day after the gunmen attacked a nearby community, Kurmin Chakara, and kidnapped a local farmer, Alhaji Kabiru.
Katsina State is one of the northwestern states that are confronting serious and frequent armed attacks despite the claim by the presidency and the state government that the situation was under control and the government doing everything possible to end the crisis.
Last week, the presidency accused traditional rulers in the affected communities of aiding the criminals to attack them.
The police in the state have yet to comment on the attacks.
(Additional reporting by Aliyu Dahiru Aliyu)
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