Bandits invade Katsina community, kill 2, kidnap 2 girls

Ado Musa Faskari, the chairman of Katsina State's Faskari Local Government Area, has revealed that robbers killed two locals and kidnapped two girls in the Mairua hamlet last evening.

In an interview with BBC Hausa, Faskari said that the assailants attacked Alhaji Lado Mairua's residence on Saturday night, during the Ramadan Tarawih prayer.

Lado Mairua, a politician and businessman, was among those slain in the attacks. Lado's neighbour, who raised the alarm after discovering what was going on, was also slain by the hoodlums.

Narrating the Ordeal Faskari told BBC Hausa, "The hoodlums questioned the congregation: "Where is Alhaji Lado?" He (Lado) said, "I am here." Then they ordered him to follow them, but he resisted. So they shot and murdered him.

Faskari further verified that the hoodlums took Lado's wife, Hajiya Rabi, and his 15-year-old daughter, Maryam, adding to the family's agony.

"This makes it the second time Hajiya Rabi will be kidnapped by bandits," he told reporters.

According to Faskari, the incident has already caused despondency among locals, who now live in continuous terror of the hoodlums.

He stated: "These bandits have multiple camps in our area, and they now assault us virtually every day. Even yesterday, they raided Malalai village, slaughtered two people, and fled with the ladies. "A soldier was also killed near Ruwan Godiya yesterday," he mourned.

"We are calling on the federal government to look into our plight," he said. "This situation is proving to be beyond what we can handle."

He called for a more aggressive approach, stating that: “There’s a need to invade their hideouts and arrest them. If not, this insurgency will never end. They have devised several ways and means of attacking our communities; either while we are breaking our fast or praying, and several others.

“The road that leads to Gusau from here is attacked daily. Even the road from Ruwan Godiya to Kankara has been abandoned completely as a result yet residents here are still not safe.

"Frankly, Faskari LGA is in a bad state. We want serious prayers and more security people to be deployed to the region to battle these bandits, not security officers who will come and attempt to safeguard the community, but those who will go after the bandits in their enclaves and defeat them," Faskari told the BBC.