Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
For two hours on Monday afternoon, gunmen on motorcycles turned the quiet farming community of Yankamaye in Tsanyawa Local Government Area of Kano State into a shooting gallery. They rode in unchallenged, fired at anyone who moved, looted homes, and eventually drove away with an unspecified number of captives. By the time the shooting stopped, five bodies lay on the ground, and several wounded victims were being rushed to nearby hospitals. The attackers, believed to be bandits operating from forest hideouts in neighbouring Katsina State, remained on the scene for nearly two hours without any intervention from security forces. It was, residents say, the deadliest single incident the community has endured in months.
The attack on Yankamaye comes just 24 hours after the earlier Monday night raid, which initially prompted official confirmation of three deaths. The disparity in casualty figures between the Monday afternoon assault and the Monday evening attack has caused confusion. The earlier incident drew immediate response from authorities, including a confirmation from the member representing Ghari and Tsanyawa Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Sani Bala, who publicly announced that three bodies had been recovered. “As at the time of this update, three people have been confirmed dead,” Bala stated, expressing concern over the deteriorating security situation in the constituency. But the afternoon attack, which appears to have been a more sustained and brutal operation, has presented a far graver picture. Witnesses described the attackers as heavily armed men who stormed the town under the cover of broad daylight on Monday, killing five persons and injuring several others during the assault that lasted for two hours. The bandits on motorcycles invaded Yankamaye community in Tsanyawa LGA of the state on Monday afternoon, killed five persons and injured several others during the attack. The attack was said to have lasted for two hours as the bandits raided the community unchallenged, later taking away an unspecified number of persons. On Tuesday afternoon, funeral prayers were held for those killed in accordance with Islamic rites amid wailing from grieving relatives.
Many residents criticised the security agencies for their slow response. A resident who spoke to newsmen on condition of anonymity expressed frustration that the community was left to defend itself. “Where were the police? Where was the army? We were abandoned to be slaughtered like rams,” the resident said. The attackers operated with impunity for two hours and left only when they had satisfied their deadly mission. The Kano State Police Command had not released an official statement on the incident as of Tuesday evening, and the state government has remained silent.
The community sits perilously close to the vast forests that straddle the Kano-Katsina border, a terrain that has become a haven for criminal gangs who have terrorised the North‑West for years. Madahuru Isah Ibrahim, a resident, pointed to geography as a major problem. The community sits near forests linking Kano and Katsina, making it vulnerable. According to him, fear has gripped the area completely. “Our people are living in fear. Farmers can no longer sleep peacefully, and many are afraid to go to their farms because of recurring attacks around these areas,” Ibrahim noted. Saifullahi Sulaiman Sorodaya, another resident, recalled the terror of the night assault. “The attackers entered the town shooting without stopping, and people had no option but to run for their lives,” he told reporters. Parents grabbed their children and fled into farmlands and bushes. Some hid inside abandoned structures until the gunmen eventually left.
Tsanyawa LGA is one of the local government areas that border Kano and Katsina State, where bandits are believed to penetrate Kano communities through bush paths. The area has seen suspicious bandit movements recently. Residents complain of nighttime attacks, theft and constant intimidation in these areas. While Kano has largely escaped the worst of the banditry that has devastated Zamfara, Katsina and Kaduna, the picture is now changing. The Monday attacks on Yankamaye have confirmed the fears of security analysts who have warned for months that criminal gangs from Katsina are pushing deeper into Kano territory. Shanono, Tsanyawa and parts of Bichi have all recorded increased bandit activity, and border communities now report kidnappings, cattle rustling and raids almost regularly.
The attack on Yankamaye is part of a worrying trend. On the same Monday, bandits stormed Maigora town in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State, rustling cattle and seizing a resident’s motorcycle. The community has been living under persistent threat despite ongoing peace talks between authorities and armed groups. Residents of Maigora have expressed growing doubts about the effectiveness of the reconciliation process, as attacks and raids have continued unabated.
As the sun set on Yankamaye on Tuesday, the community gathered to bury its dead. The wails of women and the silence of men filled the air as five fresh graves were dug in the sand. Residents have appealed to security agencies to intensify surveillance and deploy additional personnel to prevent further attacks. “We are tired of burying our people,” one elderly man said. “We want the government to act before the next attack comes. And it will come, because they know we are defenceless.”
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