Banditry In Katsina : Eight village heads abandon domain for safety

By SEGUN OLANIYAN, Katsina

Activities of bandits in Batsari LGA of Katsina state has forced eight village heads to abandon their domains for safety in the state capital.

The villages and communities in one of the dreaded frontline local government areas in state witness incessant bandits attacks.

The state government measures to curtail the activities of bandits in the state included the shut down of Batsari cattle weekly market, one of the biggest in the region.

The district head of Batsari, Sarkin Ruman Katsina, Alhaji Tukur Muazu, in an interview with newsmen said his domain had been constantly been overrun by bandits.

“Eight of my village heads have abandoned their people because they can no longer bear it, Similarly, the villages and farmlands have been deserted”, he said.

He further maintained that, most of the villages and hamlets sharing boundaries with the Rugu forest have all fled due to incessant attacks to avoid being killed or maimed.

“Batsari, the local government headquarters is filled to the brim with internally Displaced Persons from the villages. When you go there, you cannot find anyone except those with nothing to fall back on,” he added.

The traditional ruler who noted that farmers in the area are the worse hits, said they have chased all farmers away from their farms and rustled their cattles.

On his part, he said he has not work on his farmlands, adding that, the land has not been cultivated in the past three years. (Daily Independent)