Katsina: Hunters, vigilantes kill 18 bandits led by ex-headmaster

About 18 suspected bandits have been killed, while arms and rustled cattle were recovered in Gidan Iyado, Kakumi Ward, Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Nasir Mua’zu, the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, disclosed this in a statement on Monday, according to a report by Peoples Gazette, noting that a joint operation comprising hunters, members of the Community Watch Corps and local vigilante groups ambushed and neutralised the bandits at about 1am on September 21, 2026.

“Acting on credible information about planned mass abduction for ransom by the criminal group, our forces laid an ambush using operational assets and engaged the bandits,” Mua’zu said.

He identified the slain kingpin as Musa Duki, a former headmaster-turned-bandit leader who operated from Mununu Forest in Faskari LGA. Security operatives recovered one G3 rifle, two AK-47 rifles, 14 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, three motorcycles, two cows and 94 sheep from the bandits.

Governor Dikko Umaru Radda assured residents that covert operations to track down the kingpin’s network remain ongoing, vowing, “We will not relent until every forest and hideout is cleared.”