At least 60 armed bandits assaulted a recently discovered illicit gold mining location in Magama village, Jibiya Local Government Area, Katsina State, murdering three people and injuring at least five more.
Tasiu Abdullahi, the Chairman of the Gold dealers in the area, who confirmed the attack, told reporters that “the bandits came into our community in the night around 9pm through Bakin Korama shooting sporadically. They killed three people and shot five others.”
Mohammed Sani, a gold dealer in the area also revealed to our correspondent that “during the attack they also burnt down our tents where we transact, rest and sleep.”
According to Sani, “the bandits sent a little boy with a letter to the village head to notify the community that they have 13 people from our community in their custody.”
He further said “eight of the kidnapped victims are from Zamfara State, two from Dan Isa in Niger Republic, while three others are from Magama community here.
“Out of the three persons killed by the bandits, two are from Jibiya, while the identity of the third could not be identified, as no means of identification was found on him.”
However, he said the deceased victims had since been buried in accordance with Islamic rights, while those wounded were currently receiving treatment at the Jibiya General Hospital.