423
THE police in Katsina State yesterday confirmed the killing of 41 persons by gunmen during an ambush at Yargoje forest in Bakori Local Government Area of the State.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, police spokesman Gambo Isah said .
Isah said the gunmen had invaded the home of one Alhaji Muntari in Kandarawa, Bakori LGA, and stole 80 animals.
Members of a proscribed vigilance group, Yan Sakai, were said to have gone after the bandits with a view to retrieving the animals.
Unknown to the vigilance men, the bandits had laid an ambush and opened fire as soon as the pursuers got within their sight.
Isah said: “On Wednesday, 1/02/2023 at about 2200hrs, terrorists in their numbers, shooting sporadically with AK 47 rifles, attacked the house of one Alhaji Muntari, at Unguwar Audu Gare, Kandarawa, Bakori LGA, and rustled fifty (50) cows and thirty (30) sheep,” the statement reads.
“Subsequently, on Thursday, 2/02/2023, at about 10:00hrs, Yansakai outlawed group, from eleven (11) villages from Bakori LGA, regrouped and went after the terrorists with a view to recover the rustled domestic animals.
“They traced the footpath of the hoodlums to a location at Yargoje forest. Unfortunately, the terrorists planned and launched a coordinated ambush on the Yansakai.”
The police spokesperson said two persons in the Yansakai group sustained injuries and were taken to the Kankara General Hospital for treatment.
“The hoodlums shot and killed forty-one (41) Yansakai and wounded two (2). Area commander, Malumfashi, led a team of policemen to the scene and recovered the corpses and injured to Kankara General, Hospital,” he said.