Three Killed, Others Injured As Suspected Bandits Attack Mosque In Katsina
Three individuals who were attending a religious service have tragically lost their lives, and a number of others have been taken captive, following an invasion by suspected criminals at a mosque in the Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State.
While security agencies and government officials have not yet officially confirmed the incident, local residents who reportedly informed Channels Television of the incident explained that the bandits carried out the attack on Thursday evening at approximately 8:00 pm.
The resident who spoke on anonymity revealed that four additional worshippers sustained injuries during the prolonged assault.
The assailants, arriving on motorcycles, reportedly unleashed gunfire upon the worshippers as they were engaged in the evening prayer known as “Isha’i”.
He said: “The hoodlums later proceeded to the Kankara town and kidnapped a man and two other women.
“They (hoodlums) also butchered another person mercilessly for refusing to go with them.”
It is worth noting that the Northwest and Central regions of Nigeria have been plagued by criminal gangs that carry out deadly raids on villages and abduct residents in exchange for ransom.
While their primary motivation is financial gain, there is growing apprehension among officials and analysts regarding their increasing connections with jihadists who have been engaged in a 14-year insurgency in the northeast.
In response to this alarming situation, militia members have redirected their efforts from combating jihadists to assisting in the fight against these criminal gangs near Nigeria’s northwestern border with Niger Republic.
