Few months after reaching an agreement between residents of Tuge in Musawa area of Katsina State and bandits, a group of bandits on motorcycles launched an early Saturday morning attack on the community and killed two people.
Seven other residents were also severely injured, according to local sources.
The bandits, this newspaper gathered, stormed the community around 7: 00 am when residents were having breakfast and started shooting as they drove inside the community.
21 Century Chronicles reports that various bandits’ groups in the state have continued to renege on agreements reached with over 15 local government areas to stop their activities.
Musawa area was one of the communities that entered into the peace deal with bandits but attacks have not stopped despite continued reassurance by local authorities.
“My brother, Hassan, is one of the seven persons that sustained gun shots as bandits stormed our village, Tuge this morning, despite the peace deal. Two other persons were so far reported dead. We pray that Allah (SWT) will restore peace in our land,” a youth leader, Comrade Rabiu Yusuf, said while confirming the attack.
Another local source who asked not to be named for security reasons said the bandits shot sporadically at people leading to the death of two men.
“We’re in a confused state of mind because these people, they’re not supposed to be attacking us as we’ve an agreement with them. If they can’t stop attacking us what then is the use of the peace deal” he said in a phone interview with 21 Century Chronicles.
The source said residents called policemen and members of the state Community Watch Corps during the attack.
“They came, but it was too late because the bandits had already fled the community. The security agents chased them through the western side of the community both the bandits had escaped by then,” the source added.
The police spokesman in Katsina, Abubakar Aliyu was unreachable for comment as his known phone number didn’t connect as at the time of filing in this report.
(Picture of Hassan, one of the injured victims)
