Armed men on Monday killed one person and abducted a newly-wedded couple in Safana local government area of Katsina state.
Residents said the incidents occurred at Rumka community when the community was attacked by the armed men. The slain victim, Sama’ila Supa, is an uncle to a lawmaker representing Safana in the state House of Assembly.
The lawmaker, Abduljalal Haruna, said his uncle, Mr Supa, was killed by the gunmen when he resisted attempts to kidnap him.
“All these are happening despite the presence of security personnel in the area where my uncle was killed. The distance between the locations of the security officials is approximately five kilometres to where the gunmen operated freely,” Mr Haruna said.
The lawmaker said kidnapping is almost a daily nightmare for residents of communities in the council area.
“Last night at Babban Duhu community, they abducted 13 people but seven of the abductees later escaped and returned home, many others were shot and are currently responding to treatment at the hospital,” the lawmaker added. The slain Supa was buried on Monday.
While delivering a funeral tribute to the deceased, the deputy imam of Izala Mosque in Rumka community, Umar Yakubu, admonished leaders to take responsibility and defend the lives of citizens.
He said the government needs to do more as citizens are being killed at will, urging residents to rise in self-defence against the gunmen.
“It’s better to die while defending yourself than to fold your hands watching them killing you. We will all die when the time comes even without you being killed. We will all account for our deeds on the day of resurrection,” the Imam said.
In a similar development, residents say a couple was abducted on Monday, about a week after their wedding ceremony.
The groom was identified as Sama’ila Abdullahi and name of the bride is Zainab Isma’il.
Sources said the gunmen are yet to contact members of their families for ransom.
When contacted, the police spokesperson for the state, Gambo Isah said security agents are doing their best to secure the vulnerable communities.
