Olayomi Koiki
Terrorists – locally dubbed as bandits in Nigeria have reportedly attacked Dan Auta village in the Sabuwa Local Government Area of northwestern Katsina State and killed two people.
The assailants reportedly kidnapped at least 14 villagers, including women and children.
It was gathered that those killed during the attack that occurred around 2am on Friday include a security operative from the Katsina State Community Watch Corps (KSCWC).
A political party APC’s chairman in the area, Alhaji Imamu was among the kidnapped victims, sources said.
“The terrorists stormed the village in large numbers on motorcycles and were armed with automatic weapons,” one source said. Despite the efforts of the KSCWC and local vigilante groups to resist the assault, they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of assailants.
Several residents also reportedly sustained injuries during the attack, with some receiving treatment at the local primary healthcare center.
Police could not be reached for comment.
– Insecurity and violence in Nigeria –
For more than a decade, civilians in Nigeria have faced multiple security threats and risk of atrocities as result of attacks, kidnappings and extortion by various non-state armed groups.
Since the start of 2024 civilians have faced intensified violence across Nigeria, and near-daily attacks by armed groups resulting in kidnappings and other abuses against civilians.
Armed groups and gangs, including so-called “bandits,” have – for many years – perpetrated widespread atrocities, including murder, rape, kidnapping, organized cattle-rustling and plunder. Armed herdsmen are also destroying vast swaths of farmland, prompting many farmers to abandon their land out of fear of attack.
In August, the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said insecurity in Nigeria is weaponised by politicians for political and selfish reasons.
A Nigerian soldier, Suleiman S., also alleged that the government’s practice of paying ransoms to terrorists – dubbed as bandits in the country was hindering the military’s ability to effectively combat them.He urged the public to redirect their blame from the Nigerian Army to the government, emphasising that soldiers are constrained by orders and cannot take independent action.
The soldier said the military has the capability to eradicate bandits, particularly in hotspots like Zamfara State forest within a week if given the necessary orders.
He expressed frustration that the military’s potential is being wasted due to a lack of direction from leadership, whom he accused of profiting from the ongoing crisis.
Nigerian authorities are not going to arrest Boko Haram terrorists, bandits, and other criminals because they were created for political purposes, human rights activist Omoyele Sowore had alleged in September.
Speaking when he appeared on Voice of The People FM, Sowore alleged that government officials have links with the criminals, using them to gain power and later protecting them.