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The Dan-Ali community in Danmusa Local Government Area of Katsina State has been thrown into pandemonium after bandits armed with dangerous weapons disrupted Jumat prayers in multiple mosques.
According to a resident of the community who witnessed the incident, the assailants struck in the early afternoon of Friday, October 4, 2024, as worshipers gathered for prayer.
They stormed the area, firing sporadically, causing panic and forcing worshippers to scamper for safety.
“We were at the Jummat prayer when we heard the shooting and everybody ran. We couldn’t hold our prayers again. Thanks to the Security Watch Corps in the area that gave them a hot chase,” the community source told Punch.
Residents of the community have also called on the government to send in security reinforcement because the bandits are rampaging.
“We need reinforcement because the bandits are giving us a tough time in our communities as we speak,” the anonymous source added.
He said, for weeks, bandits have been preventing farmers from entering their farmlands in Dan-Ali and surrounding areas, including Gwarjo, Dangane, Tudun, Tasha Kadanya, and Tasha Biri.
“Many farmers have been kidnapped, and we are all scared to enter our farms,” the source added.
As of the time of filing this report, the police have yet to confirm the incident and efforts by the platform to reach the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Abubakar Sadiq, for comment proved unsuccessful.
Radda says community leaders collude with bandits
Pulse reports that Katsina is one of the states ravaged by activities of bandits and other criminal groups in the North-West region.
The State Governor, Dikko Radda, recently cried out over the involvement of community leaders in banditry.
He lamented that community leaders are now working in connivance with bandits to allow attacks in their domains for monetary gains.
“There was a representative of the village head who collected ₦700,000 from bandits and allowed them to enter his area and killed about 30 people.
“There were women arrested, and a teacher serving as their informant, in fact, almost all the segments of people are involved in this act,” the governor said.