Gunmen
Bandits have launched a deadly attack on a wedding convoy at Unguwar Nagunda community in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State, leaving at least two people dead and several others injured.
The incident, which occurred on Sunday night, reportedly threw the quiet community into chaos as gunmen opened fire on the convoy conveying wedding guests. Among those injured was the bride, while an unspecified number of guests were abducted during the assault.
A security source confirmed the attack on Monday, saying residents heard heavy gunshots and fled for safety when the assailants arrived.
“As of this morning, families are still trying to confirm how many people were abducted,” the source said.
According to residents, the attackers stormed the area suddenly, shooting sporadically and causing widespread panic before whisking away some of the guests to an unknown location.
Efforts to get official confirmation from the Katsina State Police Command proved unsuccessful. The command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Abubakar Sadiq, did not respond to phone calls or text messages as of the time of filing this report.
The attack comes amid controversy over the Katsina State Government’s plan to release 70 detained suspected bandits as part of measures to strengthen what it described as an “existing peace” agreement between banditry-affected communities and repentant bandits.
The state government had earlier said the peace deal had resulted in the release of at least 1,000 persons previously held captive by suspected bandits across the state.
It maintained that such strategies are not unusual, noting that similar tactics are adopted in war situations globally.
On January 2, 2026, an official letter detailing the state government’s plan to facilitate the release of detained suspected bandits surfaced publicly.
The letter, classified as “SECRET,” was issued by the Ministry of Justice and addressed to the Chief Judge of Katsina State, Justice Musa Abubakar.
In the correspondence, the Ministry of Justice sought the intervention of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee (ACJMC) to enable the release of suspects currently facing trial for banditry-related offences.
Signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Abdur-Rahman Umar, the letter disclosed that a list containing the names of 48 individuals accused of various banditry offences had been forwarded to the ministry by the Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs.
According to the letter, the proposed release was aimed at facilitating “their release from detention, as one of the conditions precedent for the continuance of the peace accord deal signed between the frontline local governments and the bandits.”
The government further explained that while some of the suspects were already standing trial before the Federal High Court, others were still in detention awaiting trial at various magistrates’ courts across the state.
Umar also revealed that a separate list of about 22 inmates facing trial before different high courts in the state had been submitted, urging the Chief Judge to take “necessary action” towards their release under the same peace arrangement.
