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Agaju Madugba, Katsina
The remains of 11 victims of Wednesday’s attacks by bandits on communities in Kankara and Dan-Musa local government areas were laid to rest in Katsina metropolis at a funeral ceremony attended by the Emir of Katsina, Dr. Abdulmumin Kabir Usman, on Thursday evening.
A Toyota Hiace bus and a Volkswagen Golf car were used to convey the bodies from the affected villages to Katsina as thousands of sympathisers thronged the palace for the ceremony.
The Chief Imam of Katsina, Muhammadu Mustapha, led the funeral prayers and the bodies were later interred at the Dan Takon graveyard.
Reports indicate that bandits had launched the attacks on about seven communities in the two local government areas, the latest in the spate of bloody campaigns by the hoodlums.
The wave of banditry in the state has remained seemingly insurmountable in spite of various security efforts involving the police and the army
The Katsina State police command had deployed members of the special squad referred to as “Operation Puff Adder” from the Inspector-General of Police, to various parts of the state, to check the activities of bandits and kidnappers, operating in at least eight out of the 34 local government areas.
The local government areas described as frontline locations collectively said to be a haven for bandits and cattle rustlers, in Katsina state are, Jibia, Batsari, Safana, Dan-Musa, Faskari, Sabuwa, Dandume, Kankara and parts of Kafur.
Last week, the Nigerian Army said through the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 8 Division, Sokoto, Brigadier-Gen. Abdulkarim, Oladapo Otiki, that it had designed fresh strategies including the deployment of drones, to combat banditry ravaging parts of the north-west zone of the country.
