By Katsina Times Correspondent
Communities in Tashar Bawa and neighbouring villages in Sabuwa Local Government Area of Katsina State are under renewed siege by bandits, with mass abductions, forced displacement, and economic collapse gripping the area.
Findings by Katsina Times on Wednesday, 10th September 2025, indicate that more than 200 people have been kidnapped within just ten days, leaving residents in fear and despair.
Mohammed Sha’aibu, a resident of Tashar Bawa, said the community had been turned into a “den of criminals.”
“Everything has collapsed in Sabuwa, especially in Tashar Bawa, which has become an entry point for bandits. We can’t sleep at night. The criminals torment us, and we don’t know where help will come from,” he lamented.
He added that the attackers make no distinction, targeting men, women, children, and the elderly.
“We are living in constant fear with our wives, children, and parents under threat. We plead with the government and security agencies to rescue us immediately,” he appealed.
Reports from nearby villages—Koko, Sayau, and Rafin Iwa—show families fleeing en masse as bandits establish camps in surrounding forests. Farmlands lie abandoned, while traders and transporters face frequent ambushes on highways.
Community leaders have warned that unless both the Katsina State Government and the Federal Government act urgently, the crisis could escalate into a humanitarian disaster.
So far, security authorities have not issued any statement on the scale of abductions or the deteriorating situation.
Rising Attacks on Highways
Residents also expressed alarm over increasing attacks along the Kakumi–Guga–Bakori highway, where travellers are routinely stopped, abducted, and assaulted.
“Every day, we wake up to news of terrible attacks. People are stopped on the road, taken away, and humiliated. Do the authorities not know what we are going through? Life has become unbearable,” locals lamented.
They called for urgent intervention, stressing that security remains the backbone of society.
“We are living in daily fear. The government must act before things get worse. We pray for relief from this ordeal and for our cries to reach the ears of those in power,” they added.
