Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
On the night of Monday, 18 May 2026, bandits carried out a deadly operation in Maƙerar Bakula, Kakumi Ward of Bakori Local Government Area, Katsina State. Their target was livestock. The victim was Malam Ibrahim Maihaƙuri, a farmer who, according to residents, had moved his farming bulls to a neighbouring village four months earlier in an attempt to protect them from the relentless raids that have turned rural life in the axis into a daily struggle for survival. Unable to find the animals they were looking for, the armed men turned their anger on the farmer, killing him before fleeing into the surrounding bush.
The incident, which residents described as brutal and swift, occurred barely 24 hours after the deadly attack on the neighbouring agrarian settlements of Gidan Sarkin Noma and Gidan Wawu in Guga Ward, where at least 10 people were reported killed. That attack, which took place on Sunday, 17 May, around 4 p.m., saw armed bandits storm the twin farming communities as residents were returning from the weekly market. Among the victims were a pregnant woman and a member of the Katsina Security Watch Corps (KSWC). Witnesses said the attackers burned homes, destroyed property, and rustled livestock before fleeing the area.
For Maihaƙuri, the precaution of hiding his cattle was a desperate act of self-preservation in a region where rustling has become the currency of terror. According to local sources, he had kept his bulls in a secret location in a neighbouring village for four months. The bandits, acting on intelligence, stormed his residence expecting to find the animals. When they found none, they killed him in what residents described as a "frustration killing" – a lethal punishment for a farmer who dared to hide what the raiders considered theirs.
The double tragedy in Bakori LGA has heightened fears among rural communities in Katsina State, which have been repeatedly targeted in recent months. In the week before the attacks, bandits imposed a N10 million levy on several farming communities in Faskari and Bakori LGAs, threatening that no farmer would be allowed to clear or cultivate land if the extortion was not paid. A previous peace deal entered into by frontline council areas, including Bakori, had raised hopes of a respite, but residents said the attacks continued, often by groups coming from neighbouring Zamfara State.
The Katsina State Police Command has yet to issue an official statement on the killing in Maƙerar Bakula, and no arrest has been reported. Residents held a funeral prayer for the farmer on Tuesday, 19 May, with many expressing anger over the absence of any visible government or security presence. They described the burial as a somber affair, attended only by villagers and family members, some of whom had fled their homes to attend.
The attack on Gidan Sarkin Noma and Gidan Wawu, which occurred just a day earlier, received more attention but similarly evoked frustration. Community leaders reported that no government official attended the mass burial held on Monday morning, and that attempts were made to discourage residents from taking photographs or videos of the carnage. "There wasn't a single police officer or security personnel present during the burial," a community source, Mahadi Guga, told reporters. "They don't want the world to know the actual situation."
The past week has brought some arrests, though not on the scale of the violence. On Thursday, 14 May, the police announced the arrest of a suspected bandit informant, 45-year-old Surajo Isyaku, in Matazu LGA. According to the police, Isyaku confessed to being introduced to a notorious bandit kingpin identified as Bello in 2024 and admitted to participating in kidnapping operations in Sayaya village, where a total ransom of N7 million was paid. The police statement noted that Isyaku also admitted to inviting Bello to Dukawa village on two occasions, during which 14 cows were rustled. He received N40,000 as his share. He is currently in police custody.
The arrest of an informant, however, does little to comfort the residents of Maƙerar Bakula. They are left to bury a farmer whose only crime was trying to keep his animals alive. Malam Ibrahim Maihaƙuri had moved his bulls to hide them. He thought if the bandits could not find the livestock, they would leave him alone. He was wrong.
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