Armed bandits launched coordinated night raids on several villages in Tsanyawa Local Government Area of Kano State, abducting at least 18 persons, predominantly women and girls.
Some residents, who confirmed the attack on Tuesday, said it
occurred between 11pm and midnight on Monday.
The attackers targeted Biresawa, Sarmawa, Yan Chibi, and Gano villages, spreading panic across the rural communities.
A resident of Biresawa village told journalists that at least eight persons were taken from his community alone: two males and six females.
“They came on foot from the direction of Tsundu village. They were heavily armed with guns. Among those abducted from my compound were my wife Umma, my 17-year-old daughter Fati, my brother’s wife, and two other women,” said Kabiru Usman, a relative of some of the victims.
“We tried to resist, but our local weapons were no match for their guns,” he added.
Another source from Yan Chibi village said over 50 bandits on motorcycles stormed the community, shooting sporadically into the air to scare residents.
“We all ran into the bush for safety. When we returned, we discovered several people, mostly women, had been taken. From what we have gathered so far across the affected villages, more than 18 people have been kidnapped,” the source said.
Residents revealed that security agencies had been alerted hours before the attack after intelligence reached the villages that bandits were heading their way.
“We called the numbers given to us by the police and military, but help did not arrive on time,” one community leader lamented.
Local vigilantes and brave residents attempted a hot pursuit but lost the trail of the bandits after they crossed into neighbouring Katsina State.
Many villages in Tsanyawa, Shanono, and Bagwai LGAs have now been partially or completely deserted, with terrified residents fleeing to Faruruwa town or relocating to Kano city.
“People no longer sleep in their houses at night. Whole families now sleep in the bush or in neighbouring towns just to stay alive,” a vigilante member disclosed.
As of the time of filing this report, the Kano State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, had not responded to inquiries.
The latest abductions come barely two weeks after bandits kidnapped five nursing mothers from Yan Kwada village in neighbouring Shanono LGA, just one week after a military operation reportedly neutralised 19 bandits in the same axis.
Security analysts warn that the spillover of banditry from Katsina, Zamfara, and Kaduna states into once-peaceful parts of Kano is fast becoming a major threat, with women and girls increasingly targeted for ransom and forced marriage.
Residents have appealed to both federal and state governments for urgent deployment of permanent security bases in the affected areas to halt the escalating nightmare.
