By DANJUMA MICHAEL, Katsina

Gunmen suspected to be bandits have shot and killed 21 persons that include women and children in three communities in Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State.

The gunmen were said to have killed 19 persons at Tsauwa village in an attack that occurred by 11.30 pm on Monday into the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

The Guardian gathered that gunmen also attacked Ajiya and Yasore villages, where they killed two persons and rustled more than 35 cattle on Sunday morning.

A source in Tsauwa community said the gunmen came in their numbers, riding on motorcycles, and shooting sporadically to scare residents.

“When they came, they started shooting and pursuing people who were trying to escape to the farmlands,” the source told The Guardian.

“They even shot some people who had managed to escape and killed several persons and wounded many others.

“As at last count, they killed 19 persons and we buried them this morning (Tuesday) while the wounded have been taken to hospital for treatment.

“They also set fire to many houses in the village, including food stores, and carted away valuables, including domestic animals.

“The gunmen had come to our community some 15 days ago, but had met some resistance from residents.”

Also, gunmen on Sunday morning killed two people in the council area and rustled over 35 cattle.

A source in the area said the bandits simultaneously stormed communities in Ajiya and Yasore villages in the council area with sophisticated weapons and shot two persons to death while three others sustained gunshot wounds.

A traditional ruler in the area, the Magajin Yasore, Abdurazak Mamman, confirmed the attack while speaking with newsmen.

Mamman said the victims were attacked while working on their farms, and that the bandits went away with their animals after shooting them dead.

He, however, called on the government to intensify efforts in securing the area so that farmers can go back to their farms to ease the economic situation facing many.

Following a spate of security challenges facing the council, a lawmaker representing the area in the Katsina State House of Assembly, Jabir Yusuf has lamented to his colleagues over the situation.

Yusuf, during a recent legislative session a few days ago, said the security situation had become worrisome and that his constituency members were being attacked almost on daily basis.

He said 28 persons who were kidnapped some two months ago by bandits, were yet to be released and that no request for ransom was made by their abductors.

“We don’t know where those 28 persons are, and they have been missing for the past two months, with no information about their whereabouts,” Yusuf said.

“My constituency needs help to address these security challenges which occur on almost daily basis, and the House needs to look at how it can come in in this regard.”

The spokesperson for the police command in the state, SP Gambo Isah while confirming both incidents, said the command is working with the DPO in the area to ascertain the extent of the incident. (Text, excluding headline, courtesy The Guardian)

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