Gunmen Ambush, Shoot Military Commander Dead In Katsina

There are reports that a bandit ambush claimed the life of the military commander of an army camp at Sabon Garin Dan’Ali in the Danmusa local government area of Katsina state.

The incident, according to sources, happened on Thursday evening.

The sources noted that the corpse of the deceased, a major in the army, was deposited at a hospital in Katsina.

The commander, (name withheld), was said to have been ambushed at Malali village in Kankara local government area, where he was called to provide reinforcement to repel an attack on the village.

“As you know, Malali is along Zangon Pawwa road, and that area is completely taken over by bandits. Whenever there is an attack the security agents usually ask for reinforcement from the Maraban Dan’Ali camp, and this new commander would promptly respond.

“This time around, they asked for his reinforcement and he came using a Hilux vehicle, instead of the Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), perhaps the APCs were not available at the time. Unfortunately, his assailants waylaid his vehicle and shot him in the head.”

A resident, who pleaded anonymity, told DailyTrust that while retrieving his corpse from the scene of the incident, there was a serious gun duel between the bandits and the military personnel during which the officer who picked up the body also sustained gunshot injury.

According to the source, “When the residents of the village alerted the security agents of the impending attack, the security personnel went and shot severally in the air without any response from the bandits, and by then the commander was on his way.

“When the security operatives fired some shots at the direction suspected to have the bandits, they left, thinking that no one was there, but by the time the commander arrived, they targeted him and shot him.”