At least 21 government militiamen were killed in an ambush by criminal gangs in Nigeria's northwest Katsina state, police reported on Friday. A convoy of government militia returning from paying condolences to the family of a deceased colleague came under fire from bandits in Baure, a village in the Safana district, according to Katsina police spokesman Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu.
"Sadly, 21 individuals were fatally shot in the attack," Aliyu said, adding that police are working to "ensure the arrest of the perpetrators" responsible for the assault, which occurred on Tuesday.
Katsina is one of several states in northwestern and central Nigeria terrorized by bandits who raid villages, kill and abduct residents, and burn and loot homes. The gangs operate in large forested areas spanning Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and Niger states, and are notorious for mass kidnappings of students from schools in recent years.
In 2023, Katsina state governor Dikko Umar Radda established the Katsina Community Watch Corps (KCWC), comprising around 2,000 vigilantes, to assist the military and police in combatting the gangs.
