The death toll from the attack by bandits on some communities in Bakori and Kankara local government areas of Katsina State has risen to 84.
Daily Trust had reported that no fewer than 41 members of vigilante groups and residents were confirmed killed in an ambush by terrorists as an unspecified number were injured in Kankara Local Government Area of the state Thursday evening. The victims were said to have mobilised to the forest in an effort to recover cattle rustled by terrorists who had earlier launched an attack on the community.
Sources said that unknown to the vigilante members and those who accompanied them, the terrorists who came through Bakori, were aware of their presence and they had already laid ambush for them. Latest reports indicate that the number of people killed by bandits between the Kankara-Bakori axis in Katsina State has risen to 84.
It was learned that 26 more dead bodies were recovered on Saturday evening by security operatives and some volunteers after combing the scene of the killings.
An eyewitness told Daily Trust that he saw a vehicle at Yargoje junction moving 26 more dead bodies to Bakori communities.
Meanwhile, the Katsina State Government has said it will inaugurate a commission of inquiry to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the killings. The special adviser to Governor Aminu Bello Masari on security matters, Mr Ibrahim Ahmed-Katsina, who disclosed this Friday night while addressing some journalists at his residence in Katsina, said the government would also assist families of the victims.
When contacted, police spokesman in Katsina, SP Gambo Isah said while some operations were ongoing in the affected areas, he was not in the know of the update.
