Security forces, including hunters and members of community security groups, have killed 18 bandits in an intelligence-driven ambush in Bakori Local Government,Katsina State.
The operation, which took place in the early hours of Monday, September 21, 2026, at Gidan Iyado, Kakumi Ward, was carried out by a combined team of hunters, members of the Community Watch Corps and local vigilance groups.
Katsina State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Dr Nasir Mua’zu, who disclosed this in a statement, described the operation as a major breakthrough in the ongoing fight against banditry in the state.
According to him, the security operatives acted on credible intelligence that the criminals were planning a mass abduction for ransom in the area. He said the operatives laid an ambush using operational assets and engaged the bandits, killing 18 of them.
The commissioner identified the leader of the group as Alhaji Musa Duki, a former school headmaster turned bandit kingpin, who reportedly operates from Mununu Forest in Faskari LG.
Items recovered from the scene included one G3 rifle, two AK-47 rifles, 14 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition, three motorcycles, two cows and 94 sheep.
Mua’zu said no casualty was recorded among the security operatives. He added that a sustained covert operation was ongoing to track down Duki and dismantle his network. The commissioner, on behalf of Governor Dikko Umaru Radda, assured residents of the government’s commitment to sustaining operations against banditry across the state.
He commended the hunters, Community Watch Corps and local vigilance groups for their collaboration with conventional security agencies, saying their efforts demonstrated the importance of community participation in security.
He urged residents to continue providing timely and credible information to security agencies, stressing that security remained a collective responsibility.
