Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
Faskari, Katsina State — Suspected armed bandits launched a daylight assault on Doma community in Faskari Local Government Area on Tuesday afternoon, killing at least 20 residents, burning houses and vehicles, and wounding several others, according to eyewitness accounts and local officials. The attack unfolded despite Faskari being among areas that had earlier entered into peace agreements with armed groups in efforts to stem violence.
Eyewitnesses reported that the assailants stormed the village in significant numbers, opening fire on civilians and setting ablaze homes and at least one vehicle before withdrawing from the scene later in the afternoon. Community members said the violence lasted several hours and left survivors in a state of shock and mourning.
The Chairman of Faskari Local Government Area, Surajo Aliyu, described the raid as a reprisal attack, underscoring its brutality and scale. He acknowledged that the community had experienced relative calm in recent months after a truce was brokered between local authorities and bandit factions, but the latest violence has shattered that fragile peace. “Today, they killed at least 20 people. They burnt cars and houses during the dastardly attack,” he said, according to local reporting.
Emergency response from security forces was reported but came too late to prevent the carnage, witnesses told journalists. Victims’ bodies were evacuated following the attack, and arrangements were underway for burials in the community. Local leaders expressed deep concern over the resurgence of violence in an area previously considered part of a peace process with bandits, calling for urgent reinforcement of security deployment to protect vulnerable communities.
The attack exacerbates long-standing insecurity across Katsina State, where banditry has remained entrenched despite joint military and law-enforcement efforts, including intelligence-led air and ground operations that have neutralised armed elements in various forest enclaves. Villagers told media that many residents had already begun to flee the area in anticipation of future raids.
As of reporting, official casualty figures remain provisional, and investigations by security agencies are expected to continue. Neither the Katsina State Police Command nor the Nigerian Army had issued an immediate statement confirming the details of the attack at the time this report was compiled.
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