Buhari condemns horrific terrorists’ attack on Katsina vigilantes; Police confirm 41 dead; Masari govt investigates

admin February 6, 2023 Lead Story, Local, News, Security Report Leave a comment 34 Views

President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the attack on vigilantes at Yargoje forest in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State, where about 41 lives were lost.

The insurgents ambushed a convoy of vigilantes in the forest as they went to recover stolen cows leading to the killings.

The President, according to a statement by Garba Shehu, his Senior Special Assistant (Media & Publicity) pays tribute to all those vigilantes and family members who have been martyred, saying that the sacrifices of the brave men who are working to prevent and punish crime in their communities will not be forgotten.

Police confirm 41 killed by terrorists in Katsina State

By Zubairu Idris

The Police Command in Katsina State confirmed the death of 41 members of local vigilance groups, popularly known as “Yansakai”, in an ambush by terrorists in Yargoje forest.

This is contained in a statement issued to newsmen by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Gambo Isah on Friday in Katsina.

“On Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023 at about 22:00 hours, terrorists in their numbers, shooting sporadically with AK 47 rifles, attacked the house of one Alhaji Muntari at Unguwar Audu Gare, Kandarawa, Bakori Local Government, and rustled 50 cows and 30 sheep.

“Subsequently, on Feb. 2, at about 10:00 hours, Yansakai groups from 11 villages in Bakori local government regrouped and went after the terrorists with a view to recover the rustled. animals.

“They traced the footpaths of the hoodlums to a location at Yargoje forest, unfortunately, the terrorists planned and launched a coordinated ambush on the Yansakai.

“The hoodlums shot and killed 41 Yansakai and wounded two others,” he said.

Isah said that the Area Commander in Malumfashi, led a team of policemen to the scene and evacuated the corpses and injured persons to Kankara General Hospital.

The command spokesman said that a joint security operation was ongoing to arrest the culprits and bring them to book.

Govt investigates killings

By Abbas Bamalli

Katsina State Government says it will investigate the killing of 41 people by terrorists at Yargoje forest, Kankara Local Government Area of the state.

Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim-Katsina, the Special Adviser to Gov. Aminu Masari on Security Matters made the disclosure on Saturday in Katsina after a review of the incident.

According to him, the incident that also left two people injured jolted everybody, including Gov. Masari.

“The governor is very sad and has directed immediate reinforcement of security in the area.

“He has also directed that a commission of inquiry be instituted on the incident.

“We want to unravel the full circumstances surrounding the incident apart from what the preliminary investigation has revealed,” the adviser said.

He added that Masari also directed that relief materials be immediately dispatched to the families of the victims.

“The government is already on top of the situation in the area and we want to assure residents of the state that the government places high priority on their security and safety.

“From the strategies that we are adopting, we strongly believe that this incident will be the last in the state,” Ibrahim-Katsina said.

The security adviser said preliminary investigation had shown that the 41 victims who died in the ambush included some of the terrorists.

“The outcome of the commission of inquiry would assist us in taking far-reaching decisions in preventing future occurrence of such ugly incident,” Ibrahim-Katsina said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the victims, who were members of local security groups, ran into an ambush on Thursday when they went after some terrorists who rustled some livestock.