Protests in Katsina as Bandits Kidnap Health Worker, Daughter

Protests in Katsina as Bandits Kidnap Health Worker, Daughter

Francis Sardauna in Katsina

Residents of Yantumaki community in Danmusa Local Government Area of Katsina State yesterday blocked the Kankara-Katsina highway, protesting against incessant attacks by bandits on the community.

The protesters, mostly youth and children, who were chanting war songs, castigated the federal and state governments for their inability to tackle the insecurity in the area.

They also burnt tyres on the road, forcing hundreds of motorists and other road users to abandon the route for other alternatives that could lead them to Katsina, the state capital.
The action of the aggrieved residents followed the abduction of a health worker and his daughter by the hoodlums who launched fresh onslaught on the community.

The victim, Mr. Mansur Yusuf, and his daughter, Fatima, were said to be have been kidnapped in the wee hours of yesterday when the hoodlums stormed their residence at about 1.00 a.m.
The Village Head of Yantumaki, Mr. Sulieman Dangi, who confirmed the abduction in a telephone interview with THISDAY yesterday, said Yusuf worked in the Department of Health with Danmusa Local Government Council.

He said: “The gunmen went to his house late in the night on Monday, broke the door and took him away shooting sporadically to scare neighbours away.”
Dangi explained that the kidnapped health worker is a neighbour to the late District Head of Yantumaki, Maidabino, who was assassinated by the bandits at his residence.

One of the protesters, Adamu Shehu, who spoke to THISDAY, alleged that security personnel have deserted the community since the assassination of Maidabino.
He said kidnapping and other heinous activities by bandits had become a daily occurrence in the community and other neighboring villages in the local government.

“We are protesting to call the attention of both the federal and state governments to come to our aid before these bandits will eliminate us from our homes.
“These people (bandits) killed our district head a week ago and because there is no security personnel here, they came back yesterday and kidnapped Mansur Yusuf and his daughter Fatima,” he added.

However, the Public Relations Officer, Katsina State Police Command, Mr. Gambo Isah, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said security agencies were committed to ensuring that those responsible “for the two recent crimes are brought to book.”

He added that the state Commissioner of Police, Sanusi Buba, had since directed Dutsinma Area Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Aminu Dayi, to relocate to Yantumaki.
“More senior officers are to be deployed in the area to take care of the situation,” he stated.

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