Gunmen belonging to criminal groups killed 13 students at a madrasa in Katsina state, northwestern Nigeria, AFP learned from local authorities on Tuesday.
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Katsina is among the northwestern and central regions of the country that live in fear of attacks by criminal groups called “bandits” who loot villages and kill and kidnap residents.
These criminals live in camps in vast forests in Zamfara, Niger, Katsina and Kaduna states, which have been notorious targets of mass kidnappings of school children for several years.
Several gunmen on motorcycles opened fire in Kusa village (Musawa district) around 9:30 p.m. GMT on Sunday, targeting schoolchildren taking part in the Mawlid festival celebrating the birth of the Prophet Mohammed, Habibu Abdulkadir, a district politician, told the news agency AFP.
“The bandits started firing during prayer, killing 13 students and injuring 20 others,” he said.
According to him, five injured people were treated at Musawa Hospital while the other 15, more seriously injured, were taken to Katsina, 100 kilometers away, for treatment.
A police spokesman confirmed the Katsina attack and gave the number of 18 injured, two of whom succumbed to their injuries in hospital.
“Our local militiamen stationed in the village confronted the bandits and forced them to flee,” said Habibu Abdulkadir, estimating that this intervention prevented the gunmen from kidnapping other students.
Crime in northwestern Nigeria arose from conflicts between nomadic herders and sedentary farmers over land use, but has now escalated more widely.
To protect the villages, local citizens are trained in self-defense, but criminals resort to reprisals, often in the form of mass kidnappings for ransom.
In December 2020, bandits kidnapped 80 schoolchildren from a madrasa who were returning to their village of Mahuta after celebrating the Mawlid festival in the neighboring district. They were rescued by police and local residents.
Banditry and kidnappings are just some of the challenges facing Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in power since May and elected on a promise to end insecurity in the country.