The most recent violence before the parliamentary and presidential elections in Nigeria saw over 40 people dead in skirmishes between vigilantes and gunmen in the country’s northern Katsina state.
An armed gang, known locally as bandits, raided a village in Katsina’s Bakori local government area on Friday, robbing it of cattle and lambs before escaping into the wilderness, according to the spokesperson for the Katsina state police, Gambo Isah.
According to the spokeswoman, a local vigilante group mobilized and pursued the gunmen, which resulted in the deadly altercation and significant casualties on Thursday.
In order to hold the offenders accountable, a coordinated security operation is currently under way, Isah said.
One of the northern states most affected by armed gangs that target and kidnap individuals from rural villages and highways where security forces are overburdened is Katsina.
Prior of the February 25 election to select new lawmakers and President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military leader who took office eight years ago on a platform promising to eradicate insecurity, voters’ top concern is the pervasive lack of security.
According to two security sources, 50 people have died in Katsina. On Friday, the bodies of those who were killed were found in the bushes. According to the sources, those hurt during the altercations were brought to Kankara hospital in the state.
According to Ibrahim Ahmed, a special consultant on security in Katsina, communities are discouraged from enforcing the law on their own through vigilantism because doing so could have fatal repercussions.
