Nine students kidnapped as gunmen attack Katsina community

Nine students have been kidnapped in Sakkai, Faskari LGA of Katsina state, following an attack on the community.

Isah Gambo, police spokesperson in Katsina, confirmed the incident to TheCable, on Wednesday.

The students were said to be returning from the Islamiyya school in the area, when they ran into the gunmen who were attacking the residents of the area.

The nine students, all boys, were said to have been taken away by the gunmen, who drove away on motorcycles.

“The bandits were seen going into the Sakkai village and abducted nine male students from the school. The students are aged between 12 and 19. No teacher was kidnapped,” Gambo said.

“The students were on their way home from school. They weren’t abducted in the school. The students met the hoodlums coming into the village to perpetrate their crime, and the hoodlums took the opportunity to grab the students, and they took them away on their motorbikes.”

The development comes days after Aminu Masari, governor of Katsina, told Faruk Yahaya, chief of army staff, that bandits attack at least 10 LGAs daily in the state.

Masari had also, on Tuesday, urged residents of the state to rise above meekness and defend themselves against attacks by gunmen.

“It is the people’s meek submission that emboldens the bandits to continue with their heinous activities with murderous frequency. People must divorce their minds from the mistaken notion that security is government’s sole responsibility alone,” Masari had said.