Marauding bandits have abducted and reportedly killed a prominent businessman in Katsina State, Alhaji Bala Sanin Kawo. The incident occurred on Monday in Dandume Local Government Area after Kawo was abducted along with one of his employees on June 11.
Details of the Abduction
Sources familiar with the incident said after Kawo was abducted, the bandits called his family members on June 13 demanding a ransom payment before his release. While some reports put the ransom amount demanded by the bandits at N500 million, sources residing in the council area however said the amount was pegged at N5 million. They said Kawo’s family members and some of his associates managed to quickly raise the amount, and delegated some people to send it to the bandits. But after delivering the money, they were told to proceed to a certain location where they would pick up his remains.
One of the sources who asked not to be named said, “On Thursday, June 11, 2026, Alhaji Bala encountered bandits while returning home from one of his farms near Dantakari town in Dandume Local Government Area. He was accompanied by one of his workers, Bara’u Kwaro, when the bandits abducted them and took them into the forest. On Saturday, June 13, 2026, at about 1:30 p.m., the bandits contacted Alhaji Bala’s family, informing them that he was unwell and demanding a ransom of N5 million naira for his release. The family raised the amount and delivered it to the bandits. However, after receiving the ransom, the bandits instructed the family to proceed to a location they specified, where they found Alhaji Bala’s corpse.”
Community Mourning
He lamented that, “The tragic incident has thrown the people of Dandume Local Government Area and Katsina State into deep mourning, particularly in view of the significant contributions the deceased made to agricultural development and job creation for thousands of people.” According to him, the deceased “was one of the most prominent farmers in Dandume,” and that “he was capable of producing more than 10,000 bags of agricultural products annually and provided employment opportunities to over 5,000 people through farming activities in the area. He was the eldest son of Alhaji Sani Kawo, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest farmers Dandume has ever produced,” he added.
Recent Similar Incident
The incident comes barely two days after the death of Maj. Gen. Rabe Abubakar (retd.), who died while in bandits’ captivity on June 13. Abubakar was kidnapped along with his wife a little over two weeks ago, along the Matazu-Katsina road while being ferried to Katsina for a wedding ceremony. A former Director of Defense Information, the former military officer was buried on Saturday, June 13, according to Islamic rites in the state metropolitan area. His wife is reported to still being held captive by the bandits, even as security operatives have intensified operations in Matazu council where the abduction took place.
Security Situation in Katsina
The state is amongst those in the northwest region faced with incessant security challenges brought about by activities of bandits and terrorists. Many lives have been lost since the security situation started more than a decade ago, with thousands abducted for ransom, along with rustling of animals and destruction of many communities. As a way of addressing the security situation, the state government had established a local security group known as Community Watch Corps (CWC), to complement efforts of conventional security operatives. A recent peace deal between bandits and communities affected by insecurity had however seen a drastic reduction in cases of attacks and abductions in some parts of the state.
Spokesperson for the police command in the state, DSP Abubakar Aliyu, when contacted on the issue, said he would revert later. However, Aliyu was yet to revert as at time of report.
