Thirteen people died on Friday when villagers fought back against armed cattle thieves in Katsina State where rustling has been on the increase.
The spokesperson of the police in the state, Gambo Isah, confirmed this to Channels Television on Saturday.
Also speaking to AFP, the PPRO noted that residents of four villages, organised in local militias, took on the livestock rustlers.
“Thirteen people were killed and others injured in the process,” Isah said.
“We keep telling people who are only armed with muskets and machetes to avoid confrontation with bandits who came with Kalashnikov rifles”.
Northwestern Nigeria has been wracked by years of violence between rival communities over land, attacks by heavily-armed criminal gangs and reprisal killings by vigilante groups.
Cattle rustling and kidnapping for ransom have also flourished in the security vacuum.
The military has carried out air raids on camps in Katsina, President Muhammadu Buhari’s home state, and neighbouring Zamfara to try to stamp out the attacks but despite that, a resurgence continues to occur even amid the COVID-19.
Earlier on Friday, the police stated that it had arrested six notorious bandits terrorising Dutsinma Local Government Area of the state, recovering 130 cows along with 225 sheep.
According to them, two of the bandits are from Shamushalle village, another two from Nahuta village in Batsari Local Government Area, while the remaining two are from Kurfi and Safana LGAs of the state.
