Two villagers have been killed with one other injured in a terrorists’ attack on Gidan Baushe, Gatakawa village in Kankara local government area of Katsina state.
However, the Police have rescued 18 kidnap victims and recovered five motorcycles, as well as two rustled cows after the mission.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Katsina state command, SP Gambo Isah, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen Thursday in Katsina.
According to him, “on 12/10/2022 at about 0100hrs, a distress call was received that terrorists in their numbers, on motorcycles, shooting sporadically with AK 47 rifles, attacked village.
“On receipt of the report, the DPO Kankara Division swiftly led tactical units to the area and engaged the hoodlums into a fierce gun duel.
“The team successfully repelled the terrorists from their heinous mission and rescued all the kidnapped victims.”
The statement added that, in the course of scanning the scene, five motorcycles and two cows were recovered.
Sadly, however, two villagers were killed and one other injured by the terrorists. It is learnt that many terrorists were neutralised and others escaped the scene with gun-shot wounds.
Commuters, traders and residents that ply the Katsina-Jibia road have urged security agencies and other authorities concerned to bring an end to incessant attacks by armed bandits on travelers along the road which is an international trade route.
Blueprint gathered that of recent, armed bandits have staged at least three major attacks along the road where they killed a total of eight persons including a Nigeria Customs Service official.
They have also abducted scores of passengers along the road including passengers in a thirty-two seater bus belonging to the Katsina State Transport Authority in June this year.
Meanwhile, two farmers at Daddara village who are into exportation of staple foods to Niger Republic, Malam Yunusa Abubakar and Lawal Dan-Malam have said the incessant attacks by bandits along the road have largely crippled agricultural and commercial activities in more than 20 villages and obstructed international trade between Nigeria and Niger Republic.
They appealed to the federal government to deploy more troops to flush the forests of armed bandits and station more checkpoints on the road to check cross-border crime.
The governors of Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states, a fortnight ago, met with the governor of Maradi State of Niger Republic on how to check armed banditry, kidnapping and cross-border in communities along the Nigeria-Niger Republic border.
