10 dead as police, bandits engage in gun duel

A Team of ‘’Operation Puff Adder’’, led by the Division Police Officer, for Safana local government Area,Katsina State on Saturday night, engaged over 300 bandits on motorcycles  in a gun battle.

It was gathered the bandits were armed with dangerous weapons.

The gun exchange occurred when the bandits attacked Kirtawa village.

The police responded to a distress call from victims in the neighboring villages

A statement by the Public Relations Officer for Katsina state police Command, Superintendent Gambo Isah, said the DPO for Safana initially led the teams of Operations “Puff Adder” and Sharan-Daji to the scene and engaged the hoodlums in a gun duel.

He said’’   In the process the hoodlums shot the tires of the police Armored Personnel Vehicle and injured one Army and one Civil Defense personnel.

‘’At the time the combined ground forces were mobilised into the village the hoodlums had already operated and escaped into the forest.

“10 persons were found dead, five injured and 5 motor vehicles and four (4) motorcycles were set ablaze’’.

He further disclosed that an unspecified number of cows were rustled by the  hoodlums, adding further noted that from the command’s preliminary investigations on the matter revealed that it was a reprisal attack carried out by the hoodlums against the community.

He assured that Joint security forces have been deployed to the area to arrest the situation, pursue and arrest the fleeing hoodlums.

He said’’ The Command commiserates with families of the deceased and the entire people of Katsina state over the unfortunate incident’’.

“It also assures the people  that government and security forces are mapping out formidable strategies toward containing and bringing to an end the menace of banditry in the state’’.