The public relations officer of the state security forces, Dambo Isah, told local media that during the assaults, which took place hours ago in the districts of Guga, Kakumi, Kandarawa and Jargaba, the bandits used AK-47 rifles and other types of weapons.

Most of the deaths occurred when the bandits ambushed a convoy of volunteer guards, who were trying to recover a batch of stolen cattle in a forest, reports said.

In Katsina and other states of Nigeria, in the last months, the attacks on different targets by criminal and extremist groups have increased, those worsening the climate of insecurity on this territory, with a population of about 216 million inhabitants.

In view of this complex situation, tension is escalating in a context considered delicate just a few days before the presidential and legislative elections on February 25.

Precisely, the presidential candidate from the ruling All Congressmen’s Party, Bola Tinubu, in a campaign rally in Katsina, promised that if he becomes president, he will fight crime ‘until normality returns to this state and to the country.’

According to recent official data, since 2022 to date, more than 2,300 people have been killed in Katsina, while a large number of people have been kidnapped.

jg/abo/mem/obf