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Unknown gunmen have shot and killed a middle-aged man, Ali Iyachi, of Shirgi village in Batsari Council of Katsina State.
The incident occurred about 9pm on Tuesday when the victim was leaving neighbouring Garin-Zaki village.
According to a resident, Iyachi had attended an event in the neighbouring village and was travelling back on his motorcycle when the gunmen accosted him.
“The gunmen shot him three times, and the injuries he sustained led to his death,” the source said.
He added that the gunmen searched the victim’s pockets and took his handset, money and other valuables, as well as his motorcycle.
The victim has since been buried according to Islamic rites, even as the incident unnerved residents because such had not occurred in the areafor some time now.
At the time of this report, spokesman for Katsina police command, SP Gambo Isah, had yet to respond to inquiry made on the issue.
Meanwhile, 26 people, who were kidnapped by in Kaduna State, have been rescued from the Dungun-Mu’azu forest in Sabuwa Council of Katsina.
The victims, 18 males and eight females, were kidnapped on January 6 in Banda-Buruku village of Chukum Council of Kaduna.
According to the police, dozens of armed bandits had stormed the area that fateful day, abducted the victims and whisked them to a forest in Zamfara State.
The bandits were said to have called some of the victims’ family members demanding N1 million as ransom for each victim.
Eventually, all the victims were found wandering in the Katsina forest on Tuesday, from where they were rescued by the police.
SP Isah confirmed the rescue of the victims in the evening of Wednesday.
He said, “On February 4, 2020, about 10:00hrs, the command succeeded in rescuing 26 kidnapped victims at Dungun-Mu’azu village, Sabuwa Council of Katsina.
“On January 6, 2020 about 06:00hrs, bandits on 50 motorcycles, numbering over 100, attacked Banda-Buruku village of Chukum Council and kidnapped 26 persons – 18 males and eight females – and took them on motorcycles into a forest in Zamfara.
“The hoodlums demanded the payment of N1 million per head from their families, totalling N26 million, as ransom, or they kill all the victims.”
According to him, the command succeeded in rescuing the victims at Dangun Mu’azu forest, where they were seen wandering.
“They were taken to Ibrahim Coomasie Police Hospital, Katsina, for treatment. The command is making effort to reunite them with their families. Investigation is ongoing,” he added.
