By SCM Reporter
KATSINA – A BRUTAL three-hour massacre has left at least 20 people dead and a community in ruins after bandits tore through a Nigerian village, mocking a fragile “peace pact” meant to stop the slaughter.
The horror unfolded in Doma a settlement in the Faskari district of Katsina State, where gunmen launched a relentless daylight raid on Tuesday.
The assault began at high noon and continued until 3 p.m., leaving residents with nowhere to hide. Local council chief Bala Ado confirmed the grim toll, revealing that dozens more were left with “varying degrees of injuries” as the attackers ran riot.
The scale of the devastation has seen more than 100 villagers flee their homes, turning the community into a ghost town overnight.
The Broken Promise
The attack has sent shockwaves through the region because Faskari was supposed to be “off-limits.”
The area is one of several frontline communities that had previously signed a communal peace agreement with the armed gangs.
This latest bloodletting has raised serious questions over whether these deals are worth the paper they are written on.
”The peace process is in tatters,” one local source suggested.
“You cannot negotiate with men who carry rifles and have no soul.”
Mass Burials Scheduled
As the smoke clears, the survivors are left with the heartbreaking task of identifying the fallen.
Chairman Ado confirmed that mass burial arrangements are underway for Wednesday.
The Nigerian government has long struggled to contain the “bandits”—heavily armed criminal gangs who kidnap for ransom and kill with impunity across the country’s northwest.
