A convoy of pro-government fighters was returning from a funeral when it came under fire from bandits in Katsina State.
At least 21 government-backed fighters were killed in an ambush by bandits in the country. Katsina State, northwestern Nigeriaaccording to the authorities.
Katsina police spokesman Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu told AFP news agency on Saturday that a convoy of pro-government fighters was returning from offering condolences to the family of a colleague who was killed when they came under fire from bandits in Bauer village in Savannah district. .
“Unfortunately, 21 people were shot dead as a result of the attack,” Aliyu said, adding that police were seeking to “ensure the arrest of the perpetrators” of the attack that occurred on Tuesday.
However, eyewitnesses told Nigerian newspaper Premium Times that up to 25 people were killed in the attack, while many villagers remain missing.
Nigerian newspaper The Guardian said the fighters were members of the state-backed Katsina Community Watch Corps.
The newspaper also quoted Aliyu as saying that police had been deployed to the area of the attack to help restore order.
Katsina is one of several states in northwest and central Nigeria plagued by bandits who attack villages, kill and kidnap residents, and burn and loot homes.
In June 2024, at least seven people were killed and 100 abducted when gunmen attacked a rural community in the state.
The gangs, who maintain camps in a huge forest stretching between Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states, have gained notoriety for mass kidnappings of students from schools in recent years.
Nigerian Boko Haram group Attacks and kidnappings were also carried out in the state.
In 2023, Katsina State Governor Dikko Umar Radha established a KCWC force of about 2,000 people to assist the army and police in fighting gangs.
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