At least 25 people consisting mostly of women and children, have been abducted by gunmen suspected to be terrorists in Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State.
The incident which occurred late Sunday night at Ajasa community, also saw several homes ransacked by the hoodlums.
A resident of the community who asked not to be named said the gunmen stormed the community in their numbers, shooting sporadically to announce their presence.
He said the hoodlums did not kill anyone but abducted the said number of people and moved them into the forest.
He said the gunmen operated without resistance as security operatives did not come to the area till hours after the hoodlums had left the community.
He lamented that the cold weather caused by harmattan winds would adversely affect the victims in the forest as some of them were little children and babies.
The source, however, said that the gunmen were yet to contact the community on the abducted persons, as such was their mode of operation in past incidents.
He called on the government to boost security presence in the area, as communities within the axis had been victims of such attacks in recent times.
He cited the example of an attack some four days ago, on a village neighbouring Ajasa where an attack by gunmen left one person dead while another victim sustained injuries.
He lamented that the attack occurred in broad daylight when some farmers were reaping harvests from their farmland.
When contacted, a spokesperson for the police command in the state, ASP Abubakar Aliyu, said he would make inquiries on the matter and revert with details.
Aliyu has not provided additional details on the incident as of the time of this report.
