Gunmen, suspected to be armed bandits, at the wee hours of Friday, stormed Katsira community, in Wanke district of Gusau Local Government Area of Zamfara state, killed eleven members of a local security group, Yansakai, injuring many other people.
Eyewitness accounts said the armed bandits stormed the village and rustled over 1200 cattle and left the scene of the crime, saying that the Yansakai men decided to trail them to recover the rustled cattle.
Speaking further, the villagers said as the Yansakai men cornered the armed bandits, there was fire for fire operation between the armed bandits and the Yansakai men which led to the death of the eleven of the Yansakai men.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) SP Mohammed Shehu confirmed the incident but said that only four people were killed in the exchange of fire.
According to him, “on 12th March, 2020 at about 2230 hours, information was received by the Command that, at about 1930 hours of the same date, a large number of armed men on Motorcycles stormed the above village and rustled cows belonging to the villagers.
“A group of local militia known as (YANSAKAI) who pursued the rustlers were ambushed. As a result, four (4) members of the Yansakai, including their Commander, Popularly known as Bala Maigora were killed. Others sustained gun wound injuries.
“The bandits fled before the arrival of Combined team of policemen and men from “Operation Hadarin Daji”. Combing of the surrounding axis is being intensified with a view to arresting the perpetrators of this crime,”
He said that newsmen would be given the update as the security operatives were making frantic efforts to apprehend the offenders.
