- By Halimah Olamide
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the attack on men of vigilantes at the Yargoje forest in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State.
This was just as the NPO Reports learnt on Sunday that death toll was in its rise.
More than 40 persons were reportedly killed in the attacks.
A statement from the presidency which was made available to the NPO Reports on Sunday said the insurgents ambushed a convoy of vigilantes in the forest” as they went to recover stolen cows leading to the killings. “
” The President pays tribute to all those vigilantes and family members who have been martyred today, saying that the sacrifices of the brave men who are working to prevent and punish crime in their communities will not be forgotten,” said the comment by Mr. Buhari in the statement released by Garba Shehu, his media aide.
The statement went further, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families in this difficult period. May Allah repose the soul of the deceased.”
Residents of the affected communities had on Friday put the number of those killed at 58 and expressed fear that more corpses could be recovered from the area as others were still missing.
The victims were said to have mobilised to the forest in an effort to recover cattle rustled by terrorists who had earlier launched an attack on the community.
As at Sunday, death toll was said to have gone up to about 84.