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13-01-2025
ABUJA: As many as 21 government-backed fighters have been killed in an ambush by bandits in Nigeria’s northwest Katsina State, according to authorities.
Katsina police spokesman Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu told media on Saturday that a convoy of pro-government fighters was returning from paying condolences to the family of a dead colleague when it came under fire from bandits in the village of Baure, in the Safana district.
“Sadly, 21 persons were fatally shot as a result of the attack,” Aliyu said, adding police were seeking to “ensure the arrest of the perpetrators” of the attack, which happened on Tuesday.
Witnesses, however, told Nigeria’s Premium Times that as many as 25 people were killed in the attack, while many more villagers remain missing.
Nigeria’s The Guardian said the fighters were members of the state-backed Katsina Community Watch Corps (KCWC).
The newspaper also quoted Aliyu as saying police have been deployed to the area of the attack to help restore order.
Katsina is one of several states in northwestern and central Nigeria plagued by bandits who raid villages, killing and abducting residents as well as burning and looting homes.
In June 2024, at least seven people were killed and 100 kidnapped when gunmen attacked a rural community in the state.
The gangs, who maintain camps in a huge forest straddling Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states, have earned notoriety for mass kidnappings of students from schools in recent years. Nigeria’s Boko Haram group has also carried out attacks and abductions in the state.
In 2023, Katsina State Governor Dikko Umar Radda established the KCWC force comprising about 2,000 people to assist the military and police in fighting the gangs.
Meanwhile, Chad’s capital city is still smarting after deadly gun battles erupted on Wednesday night between security forces and more than a dozen armed fighters who brazenly stormed the presidential palace. At least 19 people were killed.
Businesses and schools opened as usual on Thursday, and most people went to work, but there was a more heightened security presence on the streets of N’Djamena, a city already teeming with soldiers. Military tanks dotted the city centre, and roads leading to the palace complex were closed.
The assault comes weeks after controversial parliamentary elections, in which opposition parties boycotted the vote. They accused President Mahamat Idriss Deby’s military-turned-civilian government of trying to legitimize his rule.
The attack also followed Chad’s surprising expulsion of hundreds of French troops in December. France, a former colonial power and a close ally, has operated military bases in the country for decades.
Conflicting reports about who Wednesday’s assailants might be are floating around on social media, adding to the confusion as government officials attempt to make light of the threat. A group of 24 heavily armed men attacked the president’s office at around 8:45pm (19:45 GMT) on Wednesday, government spokesman and Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah said, speaking on Chad state TV.
The men were armed with knives, not guns, he said. At least 18 of the attackers were killed in the ensuing gun battle, while one member of the Chadian security force also died. Three other security officials were injured, the minister added, two of them seriously.
Videos of the aftermath of the shooting showed bloodied bodies on the floor, close to a white pickup truck. Koulamallah said the attackers were killed after managing to penetrate the camp surrounding the presidency. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
