Musawa residents decry bandit incursions despite peace pact
By: Zagazola Makama
Residents of Tuge Ward in Musawa Local Government Area of Katsina State have raised alarm over incessant incursions into their community by suspected bandits despite a peace agreement brokered by the council with Fulani leaders.
Some members of the community expressed concern that since the peace deal, armed bandits had continued to freely enter their villages with weapons, harass residents, and cart away valuables without resistance.
The residents lamented that before the peace accord, locals kept weapons to defend themselves, but had agreed to lay them down in the hope of lasting peace. “Now, we feel like captives in our own homes, as these armed men come and go at will,”said sources.
They recalled that on the night of Sunday, Sept. 14, the bandits stormed Tuge village and abducted two people. Reports also indicated that same week, gunmen invaded Danjanku Karachi community and later, Gin-gin Ward, where they kidnapped residents.
“Again, on Monday morning, Sept. 15, armed men riding motorcycles brought abductees from another village into Tuge in broad daylight. They demanded fuel, which was given to them, and seized the phone of the fuel seller. On their way out, they intercepted a trader from Tsabe village, dispossessed him of his motorcycle, phone, and other shop items he had just bought,” the community alleged.
They queried whether the peace pact was intended to foster harmony or had instead emboldened bandits to humiliate locals.
“We are not challenging the wisdom of our leaders who negotiated the accord, because we believe they acted with good intentions. However, it has not yielded the desired result. We therefore call on them to revisit the terms and clarify if the peace agreement is still in force, so that our people know where they stand,” the residents said.
They appealed to the Katsina State Government and security agencies to urgently intervene and protect them from further attacks.
