A convoy of anti-government fighters was returning from a funeral when they came under fire from a bandit in Katsina State.
At least 21 government-backed fighters were killed in an ambush by gangs in Katsina State in northwestern Nigeriaaccording to the authorities.
Katsina police spokesman Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu told AFP news agency on Saturday that a convoy of anti-government fighters was returning from paying condolences to the family of a colleague who died when he came under fire from a bandit. – music in the town of Baure, in the Safana region. .
“Unfortunately, 21 people were fatally shot as a result of the attack,” Aliyu said, adding that the police were trying to “ensure the arrest of the perpetrators”. which happened on Tuesday.
Witnesses, however, told Premium Times Nigeria that up to 25 people were killed in the attack, while many more villagers are still missing.
The Guardian of Nigeria reported that the fighters were members of the state-backed Katsina Community Watch Group (KCWC).
The newspaper also quoted Aliyu as saying that the police were sent to the area of the attack to restore order.
Katsina is one of several states in north-west and central Nigeria that have been plagued by insurgents who raid towns, kill and abduct residents as well as burning and burning homes.
In June 2024, at least seven people were killed and 100 kidnapped when gunmen attacked a rural community in the state.
The gangs, which hold camps in a vast forest that straddles Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states, have gained a reputation for stealing students from schools in recent years.
Boko Haram group from Nigeria also carried out attacks and kidnappings in the state.
In 2023, Katsina State Governor Dikko Umar Radda established a KCWC force consisting of about 2,000 people to assist the military and police in fighting the gangs.
