Major General Mahrazu Tsiga (retired), the former Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), was kidnapped by gunmen suspected of being bandits.
Tsiga was kidnapped together with numerous other Tsiga village residents in Katsina’s Kankara Local Government Area.
On Thursday, a local resident confirmed the incident with the media.
According to report, the kidnap occurred on Wednesday after hoodlums equipped with sophisticated weaponry attacked the former NYSC Director General’s apartment.
The Katsina State Government and police have yet to publish a comment regarding the latest abduction.
According to sources, two residents were injured during the brief attack, and one of the hoodlums was killed after being shot mistakey by one his colleagues.
Bandits terrorise Katsina and other North-Western and North-Central states, raiding communities, killing and abducting citizens, burning and looting homes.
The gangs, which maintain camps in a vast forest that spans Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and Niger states, have gained infamy in recent years for major kidnappings of pupils from schools.
In 2023, Katsina State Governor Dikko Umar Radda established Katsina Community Watch Corps (KCWC) comprising around 2,000 vigilantes to assist the military and police in fighting the gangs.
Meanwhile, Governor Radda stated that his administration will not deal with criminal groups who perpetrate wicked crimes in the state.
Major General Ibikunle Ademola Ajose, General Officer Commanding 8 Division and Commander of Joint Task Force Northwest Operation, paid the governor a courtesy call at the Katsina Government House in Katsina State on January 22.
He emphasized that in order to maintain long-term peace, the government must enter into a peace treaty with the bandits under certain terms. The governor went on to say that the agreement can only be successful if all residents of the affected communities accept and participate fully.
