How Army General was abducted in Katsina

Brigadier General Maharazu Tsiga (rtd) has been abducted. Daily Trust gathered that the incident occurred in Tsiga village, Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State. Tsiga, a former Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), was said to have been abducted alongside nine other residents. At the time of filing this report, Daily Trust […]

Brigadier General Maharazu Tsiga (rtd) has been abducted. Daily Trust gathered that the incident occurred in Tsiga village, Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Tsiga, a former Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), was said to have been abducted alongside nine other residents.

At the time of filing this report, Daily Trust gathered that the attackers had yet to contact the families of the abducted persons.

Our correspondent gathered that the incident occurred around midnight on Wednesday, when over 100 gunmen surrounded the General’s residence.

This comes as a policeman was attacked at the residence of the Chairman of Malumfashi Local Government Area, Katsina State on Tuesday.

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It was gathered the cop, identified as Corporal Shamsudeen Lawal, was shot when the gunmen attacked the residence.

Speaking on Tsiga’s abduction, the member representing Bakori/Danja Federal Constituency, Abdullahi Balarabe Dabai, told newsmen that the attackers, after surrounding the house, began to break down doors, a development that prompted the General to come out of the house.

“When he heard the noise outside, General Tsiga opened his door and asked them what they wanted and they said they needed nothing, but to go away with him.

“For him not to do anything that could endanger those in his residence or neighbours, he said if that was all they needed, they should not worry. He then locked his door and followed them,” Dabai said.

Residents, who spoke to Daily Trust, said the former NYSC DG and four others were kidnapped in Tsiga town while another man, his two wives, his children and those of his elder brother were taken from Gidan Biye community, close to Tsiga village.

“At Tsiga, a young man sustained gunshot injuries on his thighs. He had just returned from a place where he went to take tea and immediately he sighted them, he turned back, but they shot him twice. Luckily for him, the bullets only brushed his thighs,” he said.

He added that, “During the incident at Gidan Biye, the bandits killed a member of their team who they mistook for a villager who wanted to offer help to the affected family. They shot him dead and later realized that he was one of them.”

 

General lives ‘alone’

Regarding whether or not the kidnapped General had security operatives guarding his residence, a source from Tsiga said, “he used to have three army personnel at his residence here in Tsiga, but he asked them to return to the barracks. He is the only one living in the compound as all other members of his family live outside the state.”

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in Katsina, DSP Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu, said he had not been briefed about the incident, but promised to confirm and revert. He was yet to do so at the time this report.

 

Attack on policeman

On the attack and killing of the policeman, DSP  Sadiq stated that the officer was shot and taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

He added that some suspects had been arrested in connection with the attack, and an investigation had been launched into the matter.

Sadiq said, “The incident happened on Tuesday and our men were mobilised to the scene.

“We have arrested three suspects in connection with the attack, and further developments will be communicated to you.”

A witness who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the chairman and his family were inside the house at the time of the attack and security operatives were able to avert further casualties.

 

Katsina as hotbed of attacks

Katsina has been battling bandits’ attacks for some time now.  Although, security experts say there has been a reduction in the rate of incidents, attacks are still ongoing. Recently, a medical doctor, Dr. Murtala Sale Dandashire, sustained gunshot injury as bandits attacked the Kankara General Hospital in Kankara Local Government Area of the state, during which some of the hospital staff were kidnapped.

One of the kidnapped victims identified as Yusuf Muhammad Mairuwa is an Assistant Director, Nursing Services and head of the nursing section of the hospital.

A family source said the attackers have demanded a ransom of N270 million for his release.  Daily Trust also gathered that the bandits demanded another N270 million for the other hospital staff and some staff of a fertilizer factory kidnapped close to the hospital during the attack.

It would be recalled that the governor of the state, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, condemned the hospital attack and assured of his administration’s commitment to ensuring safety and security of the health workers.

The latest attack in Katsina State comes days after the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was putting security operatives under pressure to end insecurity.

In an interview with BBC Hausa, Badaru had said, “We are under Tinubu’s pressure to end insecurity in Nigeria. He always inquires when the problem will end, because it is high time insecurity is tamed. We had a meeting with the president, the service chiefs and the national security adviser.

“A lot was discussed. Mr President demanded the service chiefs to tell him when the problem would be brought to an end. They told him things would normalise by the end of the year. The service chiefs are very decisive in ending insecurity. They have taken measures to ensure it’s tamed within the shortest period possible.”