By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
As the Air and Land components of the Nigerian military continued the onslaught on terrorists in Zamfara state, reports from the areas indicates that the terrorists have fled to neighbouring Sokoto, Niger and Katsina states where they’re currently making life unbearable for the locals.
The terrorists have specifically, unleashed untold hardship and misery on villages close to Rugu forest in Safana, Batsari and Jibiya in Katsina, the State of origin of Nigeria President, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd).
These had made many inhabitants of these villages fled to safer locations, as the terror group allegedly sleep with their wives and daughters willingly and uninterruptedly for lack of money to pay ransom.
A native of Batsari in Katsina State who craved for anonymity as he spoke to the BBC Hausa Service monitored in Kaduna, said the terrorists have now occupied areas in Jibiya at Shekewayen Yan Larba, Garin Labo, Jajjaye and Baranda, down to western Wagigi and Giginyu, up to the Safana border, all in Katsina state.
According to him, ”Truly the presence of these terrorists have frightened us, terribly”.
”The terrorists were large in number and wield dangerous weapons. They swung into action on arrival and started kidnapping people and rustled animals belonging to the locals. People were fleeing the areas,” he said.
Another native of Safana who lamented that they had for long, battled with the problem of insecurity in the area, said from Safana to Kukah down to Sidi and Mutun daya, problem of insecurity persisted.
He explained that for the past 6 years, the terrorists have been killing their people and rustled their livestock, even as they kidnapped the locals for ransom.
“We’ve now gotten to the point that we’ve nothing. Even if they kidnap a person, we’ve no money to pay for ransom”.
”Now that they know we’ve nothing,
they would even come and chose among your daughters, your wives or your mother to sleep with .
“A terrorist would come in the day time with his gun and enter your house to rest. You can’t report him to anyone. A gunman will come to your house; give your house noodles to cook for him and drag her to the room at gun point, to rest. You can’t say anything or he kills you. He has killed many,” he alleged.
Spokesperson of the Katsina State Police Command, Gambo Isa confirmed that there were strange faces in Rugu forest near Safana and their operatives were doing their best .
”It’s a covert operation and I will not go into details. But I’m assuring people in these affected areas that we would tackle the problem very soon, by the will of Allah,” he said
