Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Tragedy struck Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State on Thursday, June 11, 2026, when bandits abducted several women from their homes in a night raid. As residents were heading to their farms the following morning, the attackers struck again, killing farmers on their way to their fields. The back‑to‑back attacks have left the affected communities in deep mourning and have intensified fears of a worsening security crisis gripping rural Katsina.
“Last night, bandits reportedly abducted several women from their community,” a source familiar with the incident said. “This morning, residents heading to their farms were attacked and killed by the bandits.” The identity of the victims has not been released by authorities, and the police are yet to issue a statement confirming the number of those killed.
The attacks took place just hours after the House of Representatives passed the state police bill in a landmark vote on Thursday, underscoring the urgent security challenges that continue to plague communities across the North‑West. Kankara LGA has endured waves of bandit violence in recent years, including the 2020 abduction of over 300 schoolboys from the Government Science Secondary School in the local government headquarters, a rescue that took almost a week. Farming communities in the local government area have been especially hard hit. On April 27, 2026, at least 11 people were killed in Gurbi village, Kankara LGA, when bandits attacked and were repelled by local vigilantes. On May 2, 2026, bandits raided Unguwar Yan Zauruka in Kankara town, abducting a housewife and six children.
The killings have sent shockwaves through the communities, with farmers abandoning their fields in fear. “The few of us who still dare to farm, we are not doing it for ourselves. We farm to feed the bandits, and we farm for waste,” a widow in a neighbouring village recently told journalists. Many residents have been displaced, and the local economy has collapsed as traders and buyers stay away from areas considered unsafe.
The Katsina State Government has yet to issue an official response to the killings, but the state police command has been alerted and a manhunt is ongoing for the attackers. The incident adds to a growing list of deadly attacks in the state, with bandits frequently raiding villages, killing residents, abducting women, and rustling livestock.
In a separate but related development, Governor Dikko Umar Radda’s administration has come under increasing pressure to deliver on security promises. The governor had earlier announced a comprehensive plan to tackle banditry, including the acquisition of 100 Armoured Personnel Carriers, but residents say the attacks have not stopped.
As the communities of Kankara LGA bury their dead and search for the abducted women, one question haunts them: how long will this nightmare continue?
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