Convoy of pro-rulement fighters was returning from a funeral when they came under fire from bandits in Katsina State.
At least 21 rulement-backed fighters have been ended in an ambush by bandits in Nigeria’s northwest Katsina State, according to authorities.
Katsina police spokesman Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu telderly the AFP novels agency on Saturday that a convoy of pro-rulement fighters was returning from paying condolences to the family of a dead colleague when it came under fire from bandits in the village of Baure, in the Safana dimerciless.
“Sadly, 21 persons were faloftyy shot as a result of the strike,” Aliyu shelp, compriseing police were seeking to “guarantee the arrest of the offfinishers” of the strike, which happened on Tuesday.
Witnesses, however, telderly Nigeria’s Premium Times that as many as 25 people were ended in the strike, while many more villagers remain leave outing.
Nigeria’s The Guardian shelp the fighters were members of the state-backed Katsina Community Watch Corps (KCWC).
The novelspaper also quoted Aliyu as saying police have been deployed to the area of the strike to help restore order.
Katsina is one of disconnectal states in northwestrict and central Nigeria afflictiond by bandits who rhelp villages, ending and kidnaping livents as well as burning and looting homes.
In June 2024, at least seven people were ended and 100 seizeped when armamentmen strikeed a agricultural community in the state.
The gangs, who sustain camps in a huge forest strcompriseling Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states, have obtained notoriety for mass seizepings of students from schools in recent years.
Nigeria’s Boko Haram group has also carried out strikes and seizepings in the state.
In 2023, Katsina State Governor Dikko Umar Rcomprisea set uped the KCWC force comprising about 2,000 people to aid the military and police in combat the gangs.
