A police officer has been killed and one other injured after some bandits attacked police officers at their duty post located at Saki Jiki village in Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Locals told Channels Television in a telephone call that the attack took place on Thursday at about 8:00 pm. The bandits deceptively dressed in hijab, they said.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Abubakar Sadiq, also confirmed the attack in a statement on Friday, stating that the officers responded bravely and successfully repelled the attack.

“However, one officer lost his life and another was injured as a result of the attack. Further development will be communicated in due course please,” he stated.

Katsina is one of the states in the North-Western region that is affected by banditry. Others are Zamfara, Kaduna, Kebbi and Sokoto.

Northwest and central Nigeria have been long terrorised by bandit militias operating from bases deep in forests and raiding villages to loot and kidnap residents for ransom.

Competition for natural resources between nomadic herders and farmers, intensified by rapid population growth and climate pressures, has also exacerbated social tensions and sparked violence.

A jihadist conflict has raged in northeastern Nigeria since 2009, killing tens of thousands of people and displacing around two million, as Boko Haram battles for supremacy with rivals linked to the Islamic State group.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former Lagos governor elected in February has promised to attract more investment to Africa’s largest economy and most populous country in a bid to tackle its persistent security challenges. (Text,excluding headline: Channels TV)

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