Gunmen suspected to be bandits have killed nine people and injured 13 others in Dandume Local Government Area of Katsina State.

The incident, which occurred late Thursday night, happened when the gunmen attacked Kauran Fawa and Unguwar Jika communities, along with other neighbouring villages.

A resident of the area, who asked not to be named, said the bandits stormed their communities on foot while most people had retired for the day.

“They left their motorcycles in the bush and trekked to the village, where they began to shoot sporadically to announce their presence. During their operation, nine people were killed and 13 others sustained various degrees of injuries. We have taken them to hospital for treatment.

“The bandits also abducted 10 people, but later released them one by one, mostly due to pressure from local security operatives. Right now, only one person is left with the bandits, as nine of the victims have returned home.”

The executive chairman of the council, Hon. Bishir Gyazama, who confirmed the incident, said five of the deceased persons have been buried according to Islamic rites.

“I was among those who attended the burial of the five people who were killed by the bandits,” he said, lamenting that the incident came five months after the council entered into a peace agreement with repentant bandits.

“We entered into a peace agreement with repentant bandits and have witnessed relative peace for the past five months, as there were no attacks during this period until now. Before now, the bandits used to attack communities in the council on a daily basis,” he added, noting that measures have been put in place to guard against future attacks.

Thursday’s incident comes less than a week after bandits attacked several communities in Faskari, Funtua, and Matazu council areas, where they killed two people and abducted dozens of others.

It also follows a peace deal entered into between security-prone council areas and repentant bandits, in which 1,000 abducted victims were released to their families by bandits.

A reciprocal release of 70 suspected and convicted bandits by the state government was supposed to have taken place as part of the peace agreement, but the planned release has elicited much criticism from stakeholders.

It was gathered that the recent attacks by bandits in the state may not be unconnected to the delay in releasing the 70 suspected and convicted bandits by the state government.