Armed terrorists on 17 August kidnapped a pastor and two members of his congregation in a Nigerian village near the country’s border with Niger Republic.
At least one person was injured in the midnight attack 170 miles from the border, in the south of Katsina State according to locals speaking to TruthNigeria.
It is not known exactly which gang is responsible for the attack as the terrorists have yet to make contact with the victims’ families. But the area located in the Nigerian northern region where dozens of jihadist factions have set up camps is famed for illegal migrations including by terrorists taking advantage of the poorly guarded borders.
Residents told TruthNigeria one dozen terrorists armed with assault rifles stormed Tsiga, a Christian majority village of 500 residents located in the Bakura county shortly after midnight and surrounded a Church compound where Reverend Matthew Gandu resides with his family.
The terrorists posed as distressed residents, then abducted Reverend Gandu and the members who had gone out to assist, said a local Church leader, Reverend Korau Yakubu who witnessed the incident.
“They shouted help! help! saying thieves were in their house and Reverend Gandu who was in the same compound with those two people came out only to be surrounded with guns to their heads,” said Yakubu to TruthNigeria by phone.
“They did not fire their guns until they had gotten the victims,” Yakubu recalled. “They kept shooting as they made their way out of the village and in the process injured one of our members who was also outside at the time,” Yakubu said, noting the Pastor was targeted.
“We the Christians in this area are always the targets of the terrorists. This is not the first time we are witnessing this. They usually pass through the Muslim communities in our surrounding to get to us. But they don’t ever touch them. Last night while going out of the village, they kidnapped two people on the outskirts of the village but released them on realizing they were Muslims,” Yakubu related.
As of 2pm local time, the terrorists have yet to make contact to state their demands. Spokesman for the Police in Katsina State, Assistant Superintendent of Police Sadiq Abubakar asked to make findings and call back when TruthNigeria contacted him by telephone.
