Months after communities in Katsina State entered local peace arrangements with armed groups, renewed attacks, abductions, and displacement are testing those arrangements and security measures meant to protect rural residents. Many people have been killed, kidnapped, or forced from their homes in recent weeks across southern Katsina and neighboring Sokoto State. Farmers in some areas are afraid to go to their fields, and livestock have been stolen.
Security agencies have responded with extra deployments, rescue operations, and raids on suspected bandit hideouts, with varying results. Some communities report improvements after local negotiations and security operations, while troops have rescued some abducted residents and disrupted planned attacks. However, families remain displaced, and attacks continue, with casualty and displacement figures remaining fluid and often difficult to verify independently.
The pressure is sharpest in the Rabah Local Government Area of Sokoto State, where suspected bandits attacked Tofa on September 7, killing residents, abducting others, and rustling livestock. Reports put the death toll at between seven and 10, while estimates of those abducted ranged from 35 to about 40. Sokoto police spokesperson Ahmad Rufai confirmed the attack but had not provided final figures.
Further south in Kebbe Local Government Area, five people were killed, and three injured in an attack on Girkau and neighboring communities on September 3. The attack followed reports that suspected bandits had demanded ₦40 million from residents of Kebbe town. Police were aware of the demand, and the Anti-Kidnapping Unit was investigating. By mid-September, the Kebbe Local Government Council said it was providing food and cash assistance to 150 households displaced from affected communities.
A similar pattern is unfolding across southern Katsina, with many families relocating to other towns, such as Dandume, Funtua, Yan-Kara, Mairuwa, Katsina, Zaria, and Kano. An International Organisation for Migration assessment recorded 2,723 people affected across 629 households between August 9 and 14. Of that number, 1,535 people from 218 households were displaced, comprising 697 children, 495 women, and 343 men.
Several communities had previously participated in local peace arrangements, with representatives from Sabuwa and Dandume entering a ceasefire with armed groups on September 20, 2025. Weeks later, representatives from Bakori, Funtua, Kafur, Malumfashi, and Kankara met armed-group leaders, resulting in commitments to end hostilities and pursue peaceful coexistence. However, residents are questioning whether these arrangements can deliver lasting security as attacks continue.
The Katsina State Government has insisted that these arrangements should not be read as negotiations between the government and armed groups, but rather as community-driven peace accords initiated by communities. Governor Dikko Radda described the approach as a way to restore peace, while continuing security operations against active groups. Despite early signs of benefit, including the release of five captives without ransom, attacks have continued, with reports of killings, abductions, and livestock theft across affected areas.
Key points
- Local peace arrangements are being tested by renewed attacks and displacement in Sokoto and Katsina states.
- Security agencies are responding with extra deployments, rescue operations, and raids on suspected bandit hideouts.
- The effectiveness of community-driven peace accords in delivering lasting security remains uncertain.
