The remains of 18 persons killed by armed bandits in Yar Gamji village of Batsari local government area of Katsina state were on Wednesday morning buried at the Dan Takum burial ground after a funeral prayer held at the Palace of the Emir of Katsina.
The Emir, Abdulmumini Kabir Usman, alongside many District Heads and tradition title holders, government officials were among hundreds of sympathisers that graced the Janaza prayer.
The chief Imam of Katsina central mosque, Ustaz Mustapha Ahmed, who led the prayers, prayed for the repose of their souls and for their families and friends the fortitude to bear the loss.
Speaking shortly after the prayers, the district Head of Batsari, Mannir Rumah, stressed the need for security personnel to live up to expectation of protecting the lives and property of the people.
He called on the residents to always be vigilant and cooperate with law enforcement agencies by providing useful information to check banditry.
In his remarks, the Batsari council chairman, Manir Ma’azu, described the incidence as an unfortunate one, saying “it is different from what we normally observed.”
“Armed bandits attacked us every night but this particular incidence happened in the morning when they were attacked on farmlands,” he said.
“There is a limitation to what we can do; we have been communicating with police but we hardly see them taking action when we needed them the most,” he added.
It would be recalled that yesterday, angry youth from the town brought the eighteen corpses to the Katsina state Government House and the palace of Emir of Katsina to protest the continuous killings of residents in the area.