Several persons were reported killed and many injured as vigilantes clashed with bandits in Kankara Local Government of Katsina State, Nigeria.
The clash happened when the terrorists were attending the wedding party of one of their kingpins, known as ‘Mai Katifa Mutuwa’.
Some source said that the clash occurred between 3 to 4 pm on Saturday when some vigilante members confronted some of the bandits who had come to Majifa village to attend the wedding ceremony of one of their leaders.
It eventually led to the invasion of nearby villages in the area by the hoodlums, who started shooting sporadically. The terrorists invaded over 10 settlements in the area, including Gurbi, Danmarke, Majifa, Gidan Baso, Gidan Sarka, Gidan Jiho, Gidan Ancho, Gidan Sanka, Dan mangoro, Gidan Sale, among others. The source also noted that the terrorists killed five persons in Gurbi, and another 13 were found killed between Majifa, Makera, and Gidan Jifau settlements.
So far the remains of 18 persons killed in the attack were recovered, while another 15 injured in the clash were conveyed to the Kankara General Hospital for treatment. Sadly, one of them died on the way to the hospital. The death toll is expected to rise as search is still ongoing to discover if there are more victims. The source said that fear could not allow them to search through the night, but hopefully, they should be able to ascertain the exact number of casualties in the morning.
The spokesperson for the Katsina State Police Command, SP Gambo Isah, confirmed the clash but said that details were still sketchy. He noted that the police and other sister security agents have visited the scene, promising to respond as soon as he gets detailed information. He added that some group of bandits from Zamfara came for the celebration and later attacked Majifa village. They also learned that there were some cases of cattle rustling. However, the report is still sketchy, and he promised to revert as soon as he gets full details.
This is not the first time that such clashes have occurred in the Kankara axis. Last month, on February 3, 102 persons, mostly vigilantes, were killed when ‘Yan Sakai’ vigilantes clashed with the hoodlums in an ambush. As a result, the state government constituted a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the killings and avert future occurrences. The Judicial Commission headed by Justice Abbas Bawale presented the report of their findings to the State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, just last Thursday, expressing confidence that if the recommendations are implemented, it will resolve the menace of banditry in the state.
