Olayomi Koiki
At least eleven persons were reportedly kidnapped by terrorists – locally dubbed as bandits, who stormed Tsiga town in Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina, North-West Nigeria.
The assailants reportedly targeted and stormed the homes of prominent families in the community.
They abducted six members of Alhaji Sa’idu Wangarawa’s family, three from Alhaji Lawal Sa’idu (Dan Majen Tsiga), and two from Zayyanu Sa’idu, a relative of Dan Majen Tsiga, according to Eons Intelligence, a risk consulting, security outfit and intelligence gathering organization.
The organisation said on X that security operatives have launched a search operation to rescue the victims and apprehend the culprits.
The Katsina State Police Command could not be reached for comments.
– 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.