KANO State has come under yet another deadly attack as armed bandits stormed Yankamaye village in Tsanyawa Local Government Area, killing an elderly woman and abducting several residents in a renewed wave of violence gripping parts of the North-West.
News Point Nigeria reports that the attack, which occurred late Saturday as villagers prepared to retire for the night, is the latest in a series of incursions by criminal gangs fleeing intensified military operations in neighbouring states and allegedly emboldened by controversial peace deals across the region.
According to eyewitnesses, the gunmen rode into the area on motorcycles, parking them at a distance before advancing into the village on foot. Residents said the attackers shot indiscriminately, killing a 60-year-old woman before whisking away at least three residents, while others fled into surrounding bushes.
Kano State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, confirmed the incident, saying police operatives had been deployed to track down the perpetrators and rescue the abducted victims.
Just hours after the attack, troops of Operation MESA under the Nigerian Army’s 3 Brigade launched a coordinated offensive following a distress call from the community around 11pm on Friday.
In a statement on Sunday, the Assistant Director of Army Public Relations, Captain Babatunde Zubairu, said soldiers, working with the Nigerian Air Force and the Police, stormed the village, engaged the armed men and successfully rescued seven kidnapped victims.
Zubairu said that after the initial encounter, troops pursued the fleeing criminals toward Rimaye, engaging them with what he described as “a high volume of fire,” which forced the bandits to abandon their captives.
Despite the successful rescue, four abducted residents remain missing, and security forces have intensified search operations as the bandits were seen fleeing toward Kankia Local Government Area of Katsina State.
The Commander of the 3 Brigade praised the troops for their swift response and urged locals to continue providing credible intelligence to help flush out criminal elements terrorising border communities.
Reacting to the growing insecurity, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf reaffirmed his administration’s determination to confront the escalating threat.
Speaking at the recent State Executive Council meeting in Kano, the governor warned that the infiltration of bandits, kidnappers and cattle rustlers into northern and border local government areas had become a serious concern.
He listed affected councils to include Kunchi, Tsanyawa, Gwarzo, Kabo, Sumaila, Shanono, Tudun Wada, Doguwa, and Rogo, noting that joint operations were ongoing to seal off entry routes and protect vulnerable communities.
“Despite isolated challenges, citizens should remain calm and be assured that the government is fully alert and determined to neutralise all threats to peace and order,” the governor assured.
Yusuf also backed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent declaration of a national emergency on security, describing it as bold, timely and necessary given the scale of the crisis in parts of the North-West.
Residents of Tsanyawa and surrounding local government areas continue to demand stronger security presence as fear spreads over recurring raids, kidnappings and killings.