Scene of the attack
By Abdullahi Abubakar
The death toll from Tuesday’s attack on worshippers in a mosque at Unguwan Mantau community in Malumfashi Local Government Area of Katsina State has risen to at least 52, with around 63 others abducted, local officials and residents said on Wednesday.
The assailants, identified as bandits, stormed the community mosque at about 5 a.m. while residents were observing Fajr prayers.
They opened fire on the worshippers in what officials described as a reprisal assault.
Katsina State’s Commissioner for Internal Security, Nasir Muazu confirmed that the Mosque, located in the Unguwan Mantau village, was attacked on Tuesday, 19th August 2025 because local residents had ambushed and killed a number of “bandits” two days earlier.
Though Police report in Katsina indicated that 17 worshippers were shot dead by the assailants, known locally as bandits, independent sources claimed that the death toll is certainly higher.
Muazu, who disclosed that the attack occurred during morning prayers with the gunmen shooting “sporadically”, said the Police and Military personnel have been deployed to find attackers still at large as of Wednesday afternoon.
The Commissioner said despite the reprisal, the local government “reaffirms its unwavering support for community-based security initiatives”.
Meanwhile, residents of Unguwan Mantau have been mourning and tending to the wounded with most grieving families sitting outside their homes, accepting condolences from visitors according to their tradition.
Reacting to the dastardly act by the bandits, former Communications Minister and popular Islamic cleric, Ali Isa Pantami, said their actions “betray the sense of humanity on earth”.
Writing in his Social media post, Pantami said, “We urge the relevant security agencies to ensure the arrest of the criminals and bring an end to this inhumanity and criminality of the highest order.
“The killers of defenceless people are heartless, malevolent, and worse than animals.”
Unfortunately, Nigeria’s vast North-West region bordering Niger Republic has, over the years, become a safe haven for criminal gangs criss-crossing between both countries and evading arrest.
