Government sets up commission of inquiry

The Katsina state government is set to set up a commission of inquiry into Thursday’s terrorist ambush in the state’s Kankara Local Government Area, which led to the deaths of 41 and two injuries.

Governor Aminu Masari’s Special Adviser on Security Affairs, Mallam Ahmad Katsina, made the revelation Friday evening after an assessment of the incident.

He said: “The incident shocked everyone and His Excellency Governor Aminu Masari is very sad about it. First, he has led efforts to strengthen security in the area. He has also ordered a commission of inquiry to be established into the incident. We want to unravel the full circumstances surrounding the incident, regardless of what the preliminary investigation revealed. His Excellency has also ruled that relief supplies should be sent immediately to the families of the victims.

“The government is already aware of the situation in the area and we want to assure the residents of the state that the government is prioritizing their security and safety. From the strategies we employ, we strongly believe that this incident would be the last in the state.

Katsina revealed that the preliminary investigation had also revealed that among the 41 victims who died in the ambush, some were also terrorists.

He urged people not to take the laws into their own hands, adding that the group of local vigilantes known as Yansakai who wanted to recover rustling animals should have brought security forces with them given the ruthlessness of the terrorists.

“The outcome of the Commission of Inquiry would help us make far-reaching decisions to prevent future recurrence of such ugly incidents,” Katsina assured.

The PUNCH reported that on Thursday a gang of terrorists ambushed some Yansakai members who were trying to retrieve some pet rustlings at locations between the Bakori and Kankara Local Government Areas of the state, resulting in the deaths of the 41 individuals, including some terrorists .

The trouble is said to have started on Wednesday when the terrorists raided a house in Bakori Local Government Area from where they rustled the animals.

The Yansakai members then mobilized from eleven villages in the Bakori Local Government Area to recover the rustling animals.

However, some informants warned the terrorists about the action and they (the terrorists) then set an ambush for the Yansakai, leading to the bloody confrontation and death.

A statement on the incident by Katsina State Police Command spokesman SP Gambo Isah, also made public on Friday night, read: “On Wednesday, February 1, 2023 at approximately 11:00 PM, terrorists in their numbers fired sporadically with AK 47- guns into the house of an Alhaji Muntari, in Unguwar Audu Gare, Kandarawa, Bakori Local Government Area and rustled fifty (50) cows and thirty (30) sheep.

“Then, on Thursday, February 2, 2023, about 10 a.m. Yansakai banned group, from eleven (11) villages of Bakori Local Government Area regrouped and went after the terrorists with a view to retrieve the rustling pets. They followed the crooks’ footpaths to a location in the forest of Yargoje.

“Unfortunately, the terrorists planned and launched a coordinated ambush on the Yansakai. The thugs shot and killed forty-one (41) Yansakai and wounded two (2). Area Commander, Malumfashi, led a team of police officers to the crime scene and took the corpses and injured to Kankara General, Hospital.

“A joint security operation is currently underway to bring the perpetrators to justice. The investigation is ongoing, please.”