The number of people killed in the bandit attack on various communities in the Katsina State local governments of Bakori and Kankara has grown to 84.
According to the Daily Trust on Sunday, 41 members of a vigilante organization and villagers were killed in an ambush by terrorists in Kankara Local Government Area of the state on Thursday evening, while an unspecified number were injured.
Residents of the impacted areas, however, put the death toll at 58 on Friday and expressed concern that additional bodies could be discovered from the area because others were still missing.
The victims were reported to have gathered in the jungle to rescue animals stolen by terrorists who had previously attacked the community.
According to sources, the terrorists who arrived through Bakori were aware of their arrival and had already laid ambush for them, killing numbers of them, unbeknownst to the vigilante members and those who followed them.
Reports received yesterday indicate that the number of people killed by bandits between the Kankara-Bakori axis in Katsina State has risen to 84.
It was learnt that 26 more dead bodies were recovered on Saturday evening by security operatives and some volunteers after combing the scene of the killings.
An eyewitness told Trust on Sunday that he saw a vehicle at Yargoje junction moving 26 more dead bodies to Bakori communities.
Meanwhile, the Katsina State Government has said it will inaugurate a commission of inquiry to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the killings.
The special adviser to Governor Aminu Bello Masari on security matters, Mr Ibrahim Ahmed-Katsina, who disclosed this Friday night while addressing some journalists at his residence in Katsina, said the government would also assist families of the victims.
Contacted, police spokesman in Katsina, SP Gambo Isah said while some operations were ongoing in the affected areas, he was not in the know of the update.
“As soon as I get the update from our operatives, I will get across to update you, but for the time being, operation is ongoing in the area and we don’t have that update,” he said.