A Katsina State woman has narrated how bandits killed her husband and one of her children, before abducting five others, including a 19-month-old baby, during an attack on her community.
The survivor gave the account during a town hall meeting organised by NewsCentral TV on Thursday to hear from victims, survivors and other stakeholders affected by insecurity in the state and discuss possible solutions to the crisis.
Recounting the incident, the woman said the attack occurred while families were preparing for the mosque, with the assailants storming the worship centre and opening fire on residents.
She said, “It was nearly prayer time. We were preparing for the mosque, and our husbands were all in the mosque.
“They came to the mosque and started shooting at our husbands. Some of them died, while some of them ran away.”
The survivor said one of her children ran to her for protection when the attackers arrived at their home, but the bandits eventually killed the child despite her efforts to save him.
She added, “They met my boy, and he ran to me. He said I should help him hide. I was trying to help him hide when they came inside the house.
“When they came inside the house, they were all wearing black. I was helping him to climb up, and they told me to leave him alone.
“I said I would not leave him alone, and then they said I had to leave him alone. After I saved him, after I helped him climb up, they shot him twice.
“When they shot him twice, they killed my husband and my child. Then they went away with five of my children, including a 19-month-old baby.”
Another resident who spoke at the event said repeated bandit attacks had forced many communities to become deserted, with families displaced and several people killed.
He said, “Terrible things have happened in our communities because some of the nearby village communities have become empty. There are no people and no children.”
The resident added that one community, identified as SA, recorded massive casualties during the period of banditry.
“People were lost, people were killed where they were born because almost 100 people died during the bandit period,” he said.
The meeting also featured discussions on the relationship between mining activities and insecurity in the state.
A miner, Sani Hamisu, said miners operating around communities affected by banditry had also suffered because many mining locations had become inaccessible due to security threats.
He said, “Regarding the issue of insecurity, banditry, and other insecurity challenges, it affects us miners seriously because we are doing our activities very close to them.
“To the extent that those places became no-go areas, there was a situation where our mining activities almost stopped because we could not do anything or go close to those areas.”
He, however, denied allegations that miners were being sponsored to fuel insecurity, saying, “Sincerely speaking, they are not sponsoring us, and we are not sponsoring anybody. Nobody is sponsoring anyboby.
SOURCE:PUNCH NEWS
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