Bandits abduct nursing mothers in Kano community
Bandits on Sunday attacked Faruruwa, a community in the Shanono Local Government Area of Kano State, and kidnapped four nursing mothers
Residents said the heavily armed bandits shot sporadically into the air to scare residents before reaching their targets.
The head of the community’s security committee, Yahaya Bagobiri, confirmed the development to Kano-based online news platform, Solacebase, on Monday.
Mr Bagobiri said the bandits invaded the community on motorcycles with sophisticated weapons and abducted five nursing mothers, but one of the women escaped from the attackers.
Mr Bagobiri said the bandits violently separated the mothers from the newborn babies and whisked the mothers away.
“We continue to witness these attacks almost daily, despite the presence of the military and other security agents. Even yesterday, (Sunday) we heard that they were coming and we alerted the security, but nothing was done until they came around 9 p.m., raided houses and whisked away the nursing mothers.
“Among the nursing mothers kidnapped, one luckily escaped back to her family, leaving four with them. They took away the mothers and threw away their babies, leaving the children crying,” Solacebase quoted the resident saying.
The community appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to come to their rescue in addressing the rising insecurity in the areas.
The latest incident comes days after PREMIUM TIMES reported that a similar attack was repelled by security forces in the area, killing 19 of the attackers. Two soldiers and a vigilante member were killed in the exchange of fire.
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The security agencies in Kano are yet to make any official statement on the Sunday attack.
Unlike other states in the country’s North-west region, kidnapping for ransom in Kano is not common. Armed banditry is also infrequent.
Residents are blaming the new wave of killings and kidnappings for ransom in the area on fleeing terrorists from neighbouring Katsina State, where communities are negotiating an unofficial truce with bandits to save their area from attacks.
The attacks are occurring in remote Kano North communities bordering Katsina State, causing mayhem despite security reinforcement in the area.