At least three villages have been sacked by terrorists as banditry and kidnapping for ransom escalated in Katsina State, North-West Nigeria. According to SaharaReporters the three villages in Kurfi Local Government Area of the state were sacked and a police station torched in a banditry raid that claimed five lives.
The affected villagers who are now taking refuge in other communities in the state, staged a peaceful protest on Friday, demanding the restoration of security. Gunmen were reported to have stormed Wurma village and opened fire sporadically, forcing residents to scamper to safer areas.
“They (bandits) attacked at about 6:30pm and killed five heads of households. They also carted away valuables, that’s why our people came out to protest,” a surviving resident narrated. As we speak our village has been sacked, no single human being lives there again. We have abandoned everything to stay alive,” another resident added.
Authorities have confirmed the incident, saying two other villages under Kurfi; Lambo and Guda have also been sacked by the terrorists. The Commissioner for Homeland Security, Nasir Babangida Ma’azu said terrorists had intensified attacks in the area.
He said, “During the first raid the bandits went from house-to-house hunting for those to kidnap. On their second visit, they burnt down the police station, forcing the residents to run for their lives.”
