Bandits attack wedding convoy in Katsina, kill two, kidnap guests

Suspected bandits have attacked a wedding convoy in Unguwar Nagunda community, Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State, killing at least two people and leaving several others injured, including the bride.

The attack happened on Sunday night, and an unspecified number of wedding guests were also said to have been abducted during the incident.

A security source said residents reported heavy gunfire and widespread panic when the attackers arrived in the community late on Sunday night.

“As of this morning, families are still trying to confirm how many people were abducted,” the source said.

When contacted for comment, the Katsina State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Abubakar Sadiq, was not available as text messages and phone calls put through to him were not responded to as of the time of filing this report.

The attack comes at a time when the state government was making plans to release 70 detained suspected bandits as part of measures to consolidate what it described as the “existing peace” deal between banditry-affected communities and repentant bandits in the state

The government said the deal had led to the release of at least 1,000 persons held captive by the suspected bandits in different attacks.

It maintained that such tactics are adopted in war situations globally.

The government further disclosed that the deal had led to the release of at least 1,000 persons held captive by the suspected bandits in different attacks.

On January 2, 2026, an official letter came to the open detailing the state government’s plan to secure the release of the suspected bandits currently facing criminal trials for their involvement in banditry.

The letter, classified as “SECRET,” was issued by the Ministry of Justice and addressed to the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Musa Abubakar.

In the letter, the state government, through the Ministry of Justice, sought the intervention of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee (ACJMC) to facilitate the release of the detained suspected terrorists.

The letter, which was signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Abdur-Rahman Umar, revealed that a list containing the names of 48 individuals accused of various banditry-related offences had been forwarded to the justice ministry by the Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs.

According to the letter, the planned release of the suspected terrorists was to facilitate “their release from detention, as one of the conditions precedent for the continuance of the peace accord deal signed between the frontline local governments and the bandits.”

The government also said that while some of the suspects were already standing trial before the Federal High Court, some others remained in detention awaiting trial at various magistrates’ courts across the state.

Umar added that a separate list of about 22 inmates currently facing trial before different high courts across the state was submitted, seeking their release under the same peace arrangement, urging the state Chief Judge to take “necessary action” to that effect.

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