Suspected bandits have killed one person and abducted about 31 residents, mostly women, during a fresh attack on Shuwaki community in Jargaba Ward of Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State.

The deceased, according to report by Daily Trust, was identified as Ashiru Siyudi.

Residents said the heavily armed attackers stormed the community on Saturday night, operating for several hours under the cover of darkness.

They reportedly rustled an unspecified number of livestock and carted away foodstuffs and other valuables during the raid.

A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said the gunmen moved from house to house, shooting indiscriminately, searching for livestock, food and valuables before abducting scores of residents.

"They spent almost the entire night in the village. They moved from one house to another, looking for animals, food and other valuables.

"They also abducted women and took them away," the resident said.

Another resident, Aminu Magaji, said the attackers assembled the abducted victims at the centre of the community before marching them into the bush.

"They gathered the people they had abducted at the village centre and later took them away. We were helpless because the attackers were many and heavily armed," he said.

A resident, Garba Hassan Shuwaki, who said he had earlier relocated to Bakori town due to persistent insecurity, described the latest attack as evidence of the worsening security situation in the area.

According to him, repeated attacks, kidnappings and the destruction of livelihoods have forced many residents to abandon their ancestral homes.

"I left Shuwaki and relocated to Bakori town because of the insecurity. People are no longer sleeping peacefully in their homes. The attacks have become too frequent and residents are living in fear," he said.

A community leader, Guga Muhammad, disclosed that residents repeatedly contacted security agencies during the attack, but security personnel could not immediately access the community because of fears of an ambush by the bandits.

"People called for help, but the security personnel were afraid of being ambushed. The attackers had already taken control of the area and were operating for hours," he said.

The latest attack has renewed concerns over the security situation in northern Bakori despite an earlier peace agreement reportedly reached with some armed groups operating in the area.

Residents said the continued attacks had weakened confidence in the peace initiative and left farming communities increasingly vulnerable.

The incident occurred barely a week after suspected bandits attacked neighbouring Guga community in the same local government area, killing members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) and a member of the Community Watch Corps.

Residents and community leaders called for a coordinated response involving the military, police and other security agencies, alongside community-based security structures, to curb the recurring attacks.

They urged authorities to intensify patrols along major and feeder roads linking vulnerable communities, strengthen intelligence gathering and improve communication between local communities and security agencies to ensure faster responses to distress calls.

The residents also appealed to security agencies and the Katsina State Government to intensify efforts to rescue the abducted victims safely, warning that prolonged captivity could expose them to greater danger.

The spokesperson for the Katsina State Police Command, DSP Sadik Aliyu, said he was still verifying the incident and promised that the outcome of the investigation would be made public.