THE Katsina State Police Command has confirmed that 40 worshippers were kidnapped by unknown gunmen while observing prayers in a mosque located at the outskirts of Jibiya.
The worshippers were said to have gathered at the mosque to observe Tahajjud, a midnight prayer done by Muslims during Ramadan.
Speaking in a phone conversation with The ICIR, Spokesperson for Kaduna State Police Command Gambo Isa said that the gunmen had invaded the mosque at the early hours of Monday, abducting 40 worshippers in the process.
Isa hinted that there was a counter-attack by a combined team of Police and military officials, who engaged the gunmen, rescuing 30 of the kidnapped worshippers.
“We pursued them and we engaged them, and they were able to release those 30 because they couldn’t cope with the pressure,” he said.
According to Isa, 10 of the worshippers were still missing, and the gunmen had remained unidentified as investigations were still on-going.
“Right now, a combined team of police-military are conducting general operations and we’re waiting for the result of such operations. Investigation is on-going,” he said.
In recent times, several attacks have been carried by gunmen in Kastina State and the entire Northern Nigeria.
According to a report, more than 300 students were abducted in December from the Government Science Secondary School (GSSS), in the Kankara area of the state.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.