“It is disheartening that the residents sent a distress call to security agents but were neither listened to nor protected from the attackers. They have a right to live free from assault, protected and happy like every Nigerian.“
On Tuesday, terrorists, locally referred to as bandits, stormed Gakurdi village in the Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State, killing at least 15 farmers.
The victims of the Katsina killing, according to a local, were slain while working on their crops.
Katsina is President Muhammadu Buhari’s home state, but it is also one of the worst-affected areas in the northern region by bandits.
According to the resident, the terrorists arrived at 8:30 a.m. today (Tuesday) on four motorbikes and began firing at the civilians.
He said that the criminals’ whereabouts had been known since approximately 8 p.m. on Monday, and that several security agencies had been notified, but that no preventative measures had been taken until the bandits attacked.
“Three were slain on the same farm and subsequently it was revealed that up to 15 were killed on separate farms,” he claimed.
Reacting to the incident after being briefed, the convener of Concerned Nigerians, activist Deji Adeyanju, criticised the lack of military intervention after being notified of the impending tragedy when the villagers noticed the presence of the terrorists.
“It is disheartening that the residents sent a distress call to security agents but were neither listened to nor protected from the attackers. They have a right to live free from assault, protected and happy like every Nigerian.”
He charged the military and all security agents to cooperate with locals, especially in areas that are known to be hideouts of terrorists.
