• Abduct 24 pupils, two others from Islamic school in Kogi
• Kill pastor, wife, three family members
• Fintiri visits victims of Adamawa attack
• HURIWA condemns peace deals with bandits by governors
No fewer than 10 persons have been killed, with several others injured in a terror attack on Gurbi, Kankara Local Council of Katsina State.
The terrorists stormed the community Sunday afternoon, shooting sporadically, but were repelled by vigilantes and armed locals who stopped them from gaining entry into the community, residents told newsmen.
Gurbi, an agrarian and business community in Kankara, shares boundaries with several vulnerable communities within the Tsafe area in Zamfara State.
“The bandits began shooting before reaching the community. The moment our vigilante members heard gunshots, they went outside the community to engage the bandits,” a youth leader in the community, who sought anonymity, said.
“Afraid of the unknown, several people ran out of their houses to escape being trapped. When the bandits saw our people running out, they followed them behind and started shooting them,” he added.
A health worker in the community, who also sought anonymity, said some of the people were killed at close range.
“I think some of the residents ran into the bandits while running out of the community, and they were cruelly shot by the bandits,” he said.
When contacted, the police spokesperson, Abubakar-Sadiq Aliyu, said he would revert.
Also, terrorists have invaded Daarul Kitab, an Islamic school and orphanage, kidnapping 24 pupils and two relatives of the proprietor.
They stormed the facility, located along NNPC Road, Kabba Junction in Zariagi, a suburb of Lokoja, around 11:45 p.m. on Sunday, according to a statement by the police spokesperson in Kogi, Saliu Afusat.
She said the attackers invaded the premises and abducted 26 persons, including 24 pupils and two wives of the proprietor, Mohammed Tajudeen.
According to her, a joint security team, comprising the police, military, and other agencies, was immediately deployed to the scene. She said the team rescued 17 pupils.
Afusat said the Commissioner of Police, Naziru Kankarofi, visited the scene and ordered the deployment of additional tactical teams to intensify bush-combing, surveillance, and intelligence gathering.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but The Guardian understands that the area is saturated with many violent actors, including criminal bandits and members of Ansaru, a breakaway faction of the Boko Haram sect.
The state government also confirmed the incident, describing the facility as operating outside regulatory oversight and located in a vulnerable, isolated area.
The Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, said the school’s location raised safety concerns.
“The facility was operating illegally in a remote, bushy environment without registration with the state government and without the knowledge of relevant authorities and security agencies,” he said.
He said efforts were ongoing to rescue the remaining victims and track down the attackers, while warning operators of schools and orphanages against setting up such facilities in isolated locations without proper authorisation.
In A RELATED development, gunmen, on Sunday night, attacked Gako Village in Riyom council area of Plateau State, killing a pastor and three members of his family in what residents described as a fresh wave of violence in the area.
The victims were identified as Rev. Ayuba Choji, his wife, Chundung Ayuba, and their two children, Cyril Ayuba and Endurance Ayuba.
Sources in the community said the assailants stormed the village at about 11:00 p.m. and opened fire indiscriminately.
A local, Martha Dalyop, told journalists that the gunmen invaded the area late at night, shooting sporadically and causing residents to flee for safety.
She lamented that the recurring attacks have continued to leave communities in fear, with many unable to sleep in their homes or tend to their farms.
Confirming the incident, Publicity Secretary of the Berom Youths Moulder-Association, Rwang Tengwong, said the latest attack showed that the assailants were now targeting relaxation spots, farming communities and local vigilantes protecting rural areas.
According to him, the attackers often split themselves into groups during operations, with some launching attacks on residents, others destroying farmlands, while another group mounts surveillance or block roads to prevent escape or intervention.
Tengwong further disclosed that a large expanse of farmland had been destroyed by gunmen in the past 48 hours in Kassa, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, particularly cabbage, hot pepper and maize farms, worsening the plight of farmers in the affected communities.
However, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri has condemned the killing of 29 people in coordinated attacks in Guyaku community of Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State on Sunday evening.
Fintiri,who paid a condolence visit to the affected area yesterday to assess the level of damage, described the incident as inhumane and senseless.
He reassured residents of the state government’s commitment to protecting life and property, noting that security personnel have taken control of the situation and are working tirelessly to restore peace in the treubled areas.
Fintiri urged members of the public to support security agencies by providing credible and timely information to aid efforts in maintaining peace and preventing future occurrences, as well as remain calm, law-abiding, and vigilant, assuring them that those responsible for the attacks would be identified and brought to justice.
Earlier, the Kumo of Gombi, Ali B. Agray, while briefing the governor, revealed that the attackers first stormed Guyaku Primary School where a football match was in progress and opened fire on people at the field, causing chaos and panic, before burning vehicles and other valuable properties within the vicinity.
The traditional ruler added that the attackers later set a church in the community ablaze, leading to further destruction and widespread fear among residents.
According to him, 29 people were confirmed dead in Guyaku One, comprising 28 men and one woman, while six others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
The Kumo appealed to the government to strengthen security presence in the area to restore normalcy and ensure the protection of lives and property.
Similarly, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned ongoing negotiations and amnesty arrangements between some northern state governments and armed terrorists, declaring such actions a direct violation of the country’s counterterrorism laws and a dangerous betrayal of the people.
It warned that any governor or public official involved in negotiating, appeasing, or granting concessions to terrorists is effectively legitimising criminality and undermining the sovereignty of the Nigerian state.
The group described the growing trend of negotiating with terrorists in states such as Kaduna, Katsina, and Zamfara as a dangerous doctrine of surrender, warning that it has consistently failed and instead emboldened criminal networks.
Citing the 2024 Kaduna peace accord, HURIWA insisted that the pact had effectively collapsed, with persistent killings, kidnappings, and mass displacement continuing across affected communities, particularly in Southern Kaduna.
HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, stated: “You cannot appease terrorists. Every kobo given, every concession made, is converted into more sophisticated weapons and more organised violence against innocent Nigerians.
“What is unfolding is the emergence of parallel governments, terrorist enclaves where the authority of the Nigerian state has completely collapsed.”
The organisation equally decried the continued occupation of indigenous communities in Plateau, Kaduna and Benue states by armed groups, describing the situation as a humanitarian and constitutional crisis.
It called on the Federal Government to take immediate and decisive action, warning that continued inaction risks further erosion of national security and territorial integrity. (Guardian)
