Residents of Danjanku Tashi and Dan Tasshi communities in Malumfashi Local Government Area of Katsina State staged a protest over escalating security challenges in their communities.
The demonstration saw youths from both communities take to the streets, blocking major roads to voice frustration over the persistent insecurity.
The protest followed a reported attack by suspected bandits on Monday night, which left three people dead, several others injured, and an unspecified number abducted.
The incident comes just weeks after the council area negotiated a peace deal with repentant bandits, and a little over a month after neighbouring councils reached similar agreements.
Security operatives were reportedly on the ground to ensure the protest remained peaceful, but this did not stop the protesters from blocking roads and chanting anti-government slogans.
Some participants expressed frustration over the repeated attacks and the perceived lack of effective measures to curb banditry, urging both federal and state authorities to take immediate action to protect lives and property.
As of the time of reporting, the Katsina State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Abubakar Aliyu, had not responded to requests for comment regarding the protest.
On Monday, The Guardian reported that community leaders and council chairmen from Charanchi and Batagarawa council areas in Katsina State, at the weekend, signed a “peace agreement” with a group of bandits.
At the meeting, one of the armed men addressed residents directly, saying the insurgency and kidnappings were shaped by wider political decisions rather than only local actors.
“It was the government that wanted us to engage in banditry, but now it has called us and told us to stop. Therefore, by God’s grace, we have stopped from today,” said one of the bandits during the peace meeting.
“If the government wants all this insecurity to end, they have the power to end it — but they don’t want it to end. For the past two months, we have been trying to initiate a peace talk, but we were unable to because they didn’t know where we were hiding.
“But when they finally decided to meet us, they were able to find and talk to us today. Peaceful coexistence and the end of insecurity depend on the Nigerian leaders. If they want us to keep striking and attacking, we will. But if they want peace, we will also make it happen.
“We don’t have the power or wisdom to bring peace to the country except through the Nigerian government, because everything is under their control. Despite people saying that we are attacking, it is the government that made us do it.”
