Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari
Suspected bandits yesterday killed a military officer and three indigenes in an early morning attack on Kasai village in Batsari council area of Katsina State.
The incident, which occurred 10 kilometres from Batsari town, also left scores, who were fleeing their homes, injured.
It was also gathered that more than 200 cows were rustled by the assailants.
A source in the local council said the bandits started shooting sporadically into the air on arriving the area.
The attackers were reportedly at the verge of completing their operation when the military stormed the locality.
The ensuing gun duel resulted in the death of the soldier.
Batsari shares boundary with Rugu forest, an area notorious for banditry, kidnapping and cattle rustling.
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The forest extends to neighbouring states, especially Zamfara, where reports of the nefarious acts of kidnappers, rustlers and bandits operate daily without let.
Governor Masari had recently raised the alarm that the state was under siege.
He had also last week appealed to herdsmen to caution their wards against banditry and related ills.
The governor warned that people might resort to self- help as a way out if the attacks persist.
The police public relations officers for the state command, SP Gambo Isah, who confirmed the incident, said the bandits also laid an ambush for the military personnel before one of them was killed.
He said the commissioner of police, Sanusi Buba, had visited the scene to commiserate with the injured and those that lost their loved ones.
The spokesman refuted the rustling of cows claim, instead he said the bandits broke into homes and carted away funds and phones.
Isah, however, said security had been beefed up in the area.
The governor, who also visited the settlement, sympathised with the villagers over the incident.
