No fewer than 11 persons, mostly elderly women, have been abducted by gunmen at Shinfida Village in Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State.

They were abducted on their way to join other residents, who earlier ran to a refugee camp for safety after their village came under attack by a group of gunmen suspected to be bandits.

According to Channels Television, the assailants invaded the village on Friday night.

It was learnt that those kidnapped lacked the capacity to leave at the time most residents fled to safety due to their physical strength and some health conditions.

A villager recounted that having carried out the invasion on Friday night, the assailants planned to set the entire village of Shinfida on fire at about 7am on Saturday.

He called on the relevant authorities to come to the aid of the people, including sending security personnel to the village to protect the residents and salvage what could be left of their properties.

On Friday, seven children were killed, and several others injured in a stampede while residents fled Shinfida Village following an attack by bandits.

Although the police authorities in Katsina have yet to confirm the incident, a resident of the area Abdulrazak Ahmad said the attack occurred on Thursday.

He blamed the incident on the evacuation and withdrawal of soldiers serving in a joint security task force from the area.

Ahmad said the withdrawn soldiers were initially stationed at the Government Secondary School in Shinfida – about 27 kilometres from Jibia town.

Bandits have attacked several communities in Katsina recently, one of which claimed the lives of two security personnel in Jibia Local Government Area.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.