BANDITS STRIKE KATSINA WEDDING, LEAVE TWO DEAD AND GUESTS ABDUCTED
GREATRIBUNETVNEWS–Suspected bandits have attacked a wedding convoy in Katsina State, killing two people and abducting several guests. Here are the key details:
– Attack Details : “Residents report heavy gunfire and widespread panic as the bandits struck. At least two people were killed, several others injured including the bride and an unknown number of wedding guests were abducted.”
– Abduction: “As of this morning, families are still trying to confirm how many people were taken.”
– Government Response: The Katsina State Government is planning to release 70 detained suspected bandits as part of a peace deal, citing “improved security” following peace talks.
– Peace Deal : “The measure was intended to consolidate accords reached between affected communities and repentant bandits across multiple local government areas.” – Nasir Muazu, Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs
– Release of Abductees: The peace deal has led to the release of at least 1,000 persons held captive by suspected bandits .
The attack raises concerns about the effectiveness of the government’s peace strategy and the release of suspected bandits.
The letter, classified as “SECRET,” was issued by the Ministry of Justice and addressed to the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Musa Abubakar.
In the letter, the state government, through the Ministry of Justice, sought the intervention of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee (ACJMC) to facilitate the release of the detained suspected terrorists.
The letter, which was signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Abdur-Rahman Umar, revealed that a list containing the names of 48 individuals accused of various banditry-related offences had been forwarded to the justice ministry by the Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs.
According to the letter, the planned release of the suspected terrorists was to facilitate “their release from detention, as one of the conditions precedent for the continuance of the peace accord deal signed between the frontline local governments and the bandits.”
The government also said that while some of the suspects were already standing trial before the Federal High Court, some others remained in detention awaiting trial at various magistrates’ courts across the state.
Umar added that a separate list of about 22 inmates currently facing trial before different high courts across the state was submitted, seeking their release under the same peace arrangement, urging the state Chief Judge to take “necessary action” to that effect.
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