A lawyer, Nura Wagine, was among 11 people killed by bandits in the Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State on Tuesday.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, Katsina State, Abdulgafar Ahmed, confirmed the incident to our correspondent.
He said, “He was killed last night (Tuesday). May Almighty Allah rest his soul.”
Another colleague of the late legal practitioner, Ado Lalu, also confirmed the incident in a post on Facebook.
“Inna lillahi wa inna lillahi rajiun. May Almighty Allah grant the soul of late Nura Hassan Wagini (Esq) eternal rest in Jannatil Firdaus and those killed along with him by bandits attack in Batsari Local Government yesterday (Tuesday). He was a member of the LLB Class of 2008 of Bayero University Kano,” he wrote.
Sources in neighbouring communities disclosed that the bandits operated in no fewer than five villages in the council, during which 11 people, including the legal practitioner, were killed.
A total of 13 people were also reportedly injured in the attack.
It was learnt that the bandits began operation late Tuesday night and continued the killing spree till the early hours of Wednesday.
The bandits were said to have fired several shots into the air to announce their presence before going from house to house and shooting residents dead.
They were also said to have looted houses and shops, which they also set on fire.
The shutdown of telecommunications, which affected the council, was said to have enabled the gunmen to operate freely for hours.
Our correspondent gathered that the deceased villagers were buried in Batsari on Wednesday.
The Katsina State Commissioner of Police, Sanusi Buba, confirmed the incident.
“Eleven died, while 13 were injured,” the commissioner said in a text message to our correspondent.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Gambo Isah, in a statement, said the attack took place in Katoge and Yanturaku communities.
He said, “The CP has deployed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations, with additional units of the PMF personnel, in the area to beef up security and restore confidence in the affected communities.”
Meanwhile, lawmakers in the state have called for a review of current security measures to tackle banditry and other crimes in the state.
The House of Assembly, on Wednesday, also directed its standing committee to meet all security agencies over recent attacks by bandits in the state.
The call followed a motion of urgent public importance presented before the House by the member representing Batsari Constituency, Alhaji Jabir Yusuf.
The session was presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Alhaji Shehu Dalhatu-Tafoki.
Yusuf narrated how bandits in large numbers carried out attacks in Batsari, killed residents and vandalised structures.
He said, “This unfortunate incident happened on Tuesday around 7pm. The bandits came in large numbers, burnt many vehicles and motorcycles.
“The most worrying part of the incident was that there was no network for the people of Batsari town to inform the security agencies about the attack while it was ongoing.
“Therefore, I am calling on the government to review its security measures, especially the removal of telecoms services. This lack of network has worsened the situation.”