THE Katsina State Police Command has confirmed the death of 41 members of local vigilance groups, popularly known as “Yansakai” in an ambush by bandits in Yargoje forest.
This is contained in a statement issued to newsmen by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Gambo Isah, on Friday in Katsina.
“On Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, at about 22:00 hours, terrorists in their numbers, shooting sporadically with AK 47 rifles, attacked the house of one Alhaji Muntari at Unguwar Audu Gare, Kandarawa, Bakori Local Government, and rustled 50 cows and 30 sheep.
“Subsequently, on Feb. 2, at about 10:00 hours, Yansakai groups from 11 villages in Bakori local government regrouped and went after the terrorists with a view to recover the rustled animals.
“They traced the footpaths of the hoodlums to a location at Yargoje forest, unfortunately, the terrorists planned and launched a coordinated ambush on the Yansakai.
“The hoodlums shot and killed 41 Yansakai and wounded two others,” he said.
Isah said that the Area Commander in Malumfashi led a team of policemen to the scene and evacuated the corpses and injured persons to the Kankara General Hospital.
The command spokesman said a joint security operation was ongoing to arrest the culprits and bring them to book.
News Point Nigeria reported earlier that, bandits killed 30 numbers of vigilantes and residents in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State in an ambush.
Although residents alleged that over 30 people were killed in the ambush, the spokesman for the Katsina State Police Command, Gambo Isah, disputed the figures.
He insisted the real figures of the victims would be known after the police operatives who had gone to the scene of the incident provided a feedback.
