Katsina:Bandits demand 700 cows , 1,000 sheep from communities, residents flee

Hundreds of residents from Sukuntuni and neighboring communities in Katsina State have reportedly fled their homes following a bandit ultimatum demanding 1,700 livestock by Friday to avert a deadly invasion

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has issued an urgent Save Our Soul (SOS) message to the Federal Government following a mass exodus of residents from Sukuntuni and surrounding communities in the Kankiya Local Government Area of Katsina State. The displacement was triggered by a formal letter reportedly sent by bandits on Monday, April 6, 2026, demanding a ransom of 700 cows and 1,000 sheep. Failure to provide the livestock by an ultimatum set for Friday, April 10, would result in a full-scale invasion of the area. In a statement released on Thursday, MURIC Executive Director Professor Ishaq Akintola confirmed that the threat has led to hundreds of villagers trekking toward safer regions in a state of deep distress.

According to the rights group, the threat level has paralyzed the axis stretching from Kankiya to Musawa, Chuga, and Matazu, as residents chose to abandon their ancestral homes rather than face the impending deadline. “Reports say the raison d’etre for their flight was a letter purportedly sent to them by bandits demanding 700 cows and 1,000 sheep to avoid an invasion. The letter which was received on Monday, 6th April, 2026 gave the Muslims Friday, 10th April as the ultimatum,” Akintola stated. The group highlighted the harrowing scenes of “Muslim women wearing hijab trekking on desolate roads,” emphasizing that the victims of these criminal acts cut across religious lines despite narratives to the contrary.

MURIC has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of Defence to prioritize the security of vulnerable rural communities, noting that the primary constitutional duty of the government is the protection of lives and property. “Panic stricken, the whole communities of Muslim residents decided to escape from the area before the Friday deadline. They were seen in their hundreds trekking to nowhere, melancholy, grief-stricken, looking for safe shelter. Our hearts bleed. Who did this to Nigeria?” the statement added. As of Thursday afternoon, April 9, security agencies in Katsina have intensified patrols along the Kankiya-Matazu road, though no official statement has been released regarding the recovery of the communities or the neutralization of the bandits behind the ultimatum.

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