AFRICA/NIGERIA - Bandits attack in Katsina State: A Catholic church and a mosque attacked within days

Wednesday, 20 August 2025 banditry local churches massacres

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Abuja (Agenzia Fides) – "The people of Katsina State deserve to live in security, not fear," said Farouk Lawal Jobe, acting governor of Katsina, in an appeal to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu. He called for urgent measures to address the dramatic security situation in this state in the far north of Nigeria.
"We respectfully request the President to issue appropriate instructions to all security agencies to resolutely put an end to the unjustified attacks on our peaceful communities," Jobe added.
The latest massacre occurred in the mosque of Unguwar Mantau, where at least 27 people were killed in the early hours of August 19. According to local sources, the massacre was carried out by a group of bandits in retaliation for the killing of some of their accomplices by villagers the previous weekend. The bandits were about to raid the village when the villagers, who had been warned in time, ambushed them, killing several members of the gang.
The attack took place during prayers and caught the residents by surprise.
Last weekend, however, a Nigerian Air Force bombing raid on Jigawa Sawai, near the border with Zamfara State, where a criminal gang was hiding, allowed 62 kidnapped people to escape. Many of them had been captured during a nighttime raid by a Fulani gang on August 11 in the village of Sayaya. Also on August 11, Fulani bandits attacked the Catholic parish church of St. Paul in Aye-Twar.
"The barbaric attack of August 11, 2025, has brought all pastoral activities to a permanent standstill, as all 26 parishes had long been occupied by armed herdsmen," explained Father Samuel Fila, chairman of the Katsina-Ala Diocese chapter of the Nigerian Catholic Diocesan Priests' Association (NCDPA). The attack desecrated and destroyed the parish church, set fire to the parish office and rectory, and looted or destroyed parish property and vehicles.
Meanwhile, the insecurity is also having a significant impact on the country's education system. According to a recent study by Oxford Policy Management, between 2020 and 2025, approximately 330 students were kidnapped, 14 teachers were abducted, another five were killed, and a total of 52 schools in the Batsari, Faskari, and Kankara Local Government Areas (LGAs) were closed.
One of the causes of insecurity in Katsina State is the inadequately controlled border with Niger, which allows the passage of Islamists, armed gangs, and contraband. In recent hours, the local customs authorities announced the seizure of a large quantity of illegally imported drugs, including tramadol, a painkiller sold on the illegal drug market. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 20/8/2025)