By Ogalah Ibrahim

The Katsina State Government has expressed shock over the 41 ‘Yan Sakai’ vigilante members killed in a clash with terrorists at Kankara Yargoje Forest, Katsina State between Thursday and early hours of yesterday, Friday.

According to the state government, “though security report revealed that 41 dead bodies were recovered, not all of them belong to the vigilante group as some were of the terrorists.”

Consequently, the state government said an inquiry panel will be constituted to get to the root of the matter.

The Senior Special Adviser on Security Matters to Katsina Governor, Mallam Ahmad Ibrahim Katsina disclosed this to newsmen late night, Friday.

“We are all jolted by the incident, especially, His Excellency, Governor Aminu Masari. He is very sad about it.

“The State Governor, Rt Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, has directed that a commission of enquiry and panel of investigation be set up to unravel the immediate and remote causes of the development so as to be pro- active in tackling such challenges.”

“We are all aware that Katsina State has been stable for sometimes now as some successes have been recorded in terms of crisis like this.

“That is why the government wants to get to know what caused this latest development, where did it start from and who are those behind it?

“The government sympathises with the communities and the families affected and promise to do the needful in unravelling the factors behind this unpleasant development.

“The government also urges members of the public to avoid taking laws into their hands but to always liaise and cooperate with the security forces whenever a security challenge arises.

“We learnt that the vigilantes took on the bandits on their own without involving the security forces in their area. The casualties would have been minimal if they had teamed of with the security forces.

“Therefore, the government is urging members of the public to always get the security forces in their area well involved before confronting such challenges.

“Normalcy is returning to the affected areas and we promise to be at the top of all of such matters to bring peace to every areas in the state,” Ahmed Katsina said