A group of heavily armed criminals, pretending to be military personnel, attacked Tasharnagulle village in Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State.
They kidnapped 30 people on Sunday night at around 8 p.m. The attackers entered the village and fired shots in the air to cause fear and panic.
Witnesses from the community stated that the assailants tricked those who were trying to escape by assuring them that they were security personnel there to help.
The residents were threatened with being shot if they tried to run away.
One source described the bandits’ techniques to the Daily Trust, noting, “We are security personnel; we have come to help you, but you are running away; we will shoot anyone who runs away.”
Afterwards, the criminals went from house to house, forcing people to come out and preventing them from escaping. This strategy allowed them to gather a significant number of individuals for kidnapping.
A survivor of the ordeal shared that when the captives were gathered near the bandits’ motorcycles, a head count was conducted, totaling 31 men and women, including girls and married women. Then, the victims were ordered onto the motorcycles.
One person managed to escape from the group near where the bandits had stored their motorcycles and returned home, which was a stroke of luck.
While residents confirmed the incident to the media, the police authorities, led by spokesman Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu, an ASP, announced that they were actively investigating the matter.
Police sources stated that a thorough investigation would be carried out to uncover the circumstances surrounding the abduction and bring the culprits to justice.
This incident adds to the increasing security concerns in different parts of Nigeria.
