Bandits are said to have stormed Dutsinma town, the headquarters of Katsina State’s Dutsinma Local Government Area, and kidnapped six people, mostly relatives of gubernatorial aspirant Umar Tata.
According to some sources, the victims were wedding guests at a house near the popular politician’s home, who ran for governor in the recent APC primaries.
A reliable source told our correspondent that informants were suspected to have played a role considering the way the incident played out.
“The woman whose children were mostly kidnapped is the sister of the politician (Tata) and the way the attackers went straight to the house and kidnapped the women, was really questionable,” he said.
A resident of Dutsinma who pleaded for anonymity said the terrorists initially kidnapped nine people at Unguwar Kudu quarters of the town but three were later released.
“First they abandoned an elderly woman who could not trek with a small boy who was continuously crying. Then when they went further they also left another woman who was worn out.
“Recently there was a time the bandits came to Dutsinma for four consecutive days and kidnapped people. The situation has become worse lately and we are really disturbed,” the source said.
Also, a traditional leader who wouldn’t want his name in print confirmed the incident, saying “We have just returned from the house where the incident happened, where we commiserated with the families of the victims.
“It is really becoming worrisome (banditry) and we are appealing to the security agencies to rose to the occasion,” he added.
Police spokesman, SP Gambo, could not confirm the incident as at the time of filing this report, saying he was yet to be briefed on the matter, but promised to get back to our reporter as soon as he received the information.
