Rival bandit groups clash in Katsina: 10 killed as gangs turn on each other
By: Zagazola Makama
The latest spate of violence in Katsina State has taken a grim turn, not from security forces, but from within the bandit ranks themselves.
Zagazola learnt that on Monday evening, what should have been a joyous naming ceremony at Gidan Mai Aure, near Sayaya village in Matazu Local Government Area, became the scene of carnage as two rival bandit groups clashed, leaving at least 10 people dead.
The confrontation, according to eyewitnesses, was between a gang led by Saimaila of Salihawa village and another faction headed by Muhammadu from Maharba village.
Sources said that tension had been building between the groups over supremacy and control of territory. The conflict erupted when Muhammadu and his men stormed the ceremony, engaging Saimaila’s group in a bloody fight. By the end of the attack, Saimaila and nine of his loyalists lay dead.
Each clashes often signal deepening fragmentation among armed groups operating across the North-West, where competition for routes, taxes imposed on locals, and ransom profits frequently spark deadly rivalries.
