Bandits continued their violence on Northwest Nigeria, killing no fewer than 10 persons, including seven Nigerien soldiers as they attacked Batsari and Kadobe communities in Katsina State on Tuesday.
The bandits also abducted 17 people, including eight Islamiyya school pupils and a teacher, in Batsari town.
The seven Nigerien soldiers were killed on Monday while others were missing at Kadobe village about four kilometres from Kukar Babangida village of Jibia LGA when they mobilised to defend the Nigerian village and the inhabitants.
Residents of the area said that about 500 gunmen on more than 100 motorbikes stormed the village.
When contacted, the Katsina Police Spokesperson, SP Gambo Isah, said he would contact the DPO in Batsari for confirmation, and noted that he could not comment on the Faskari incident as the military was in charge of the area.
On the abducted Nigerians, a resident of Batsari told our reporter that one of the victims, who was his aunt, died of cardiac arrest due to the gunshots by the bandits.
The resident further said the other two villagers died from stray bullets; one from the gunmen and the other from security men that engaged the bandits.
He said, “By the time the bandits came to Batsari, we learnt that the security men were at Dankar village, which was surrounded by bandits,” adding that eight persons were abducted by the gunmen during the attack.
The Sakkai school pupils and their teacher were abducted while conducting an evening lesson on the school premises on Tuesday.
This story was first published in Daily Trust