Tension In Katsina: Schools, Markets Grounded As Bandits Tighten Grip On 8 Councils

Governor Dikko Umaru Radda has decried the worsening insecurity in Katsina State, lamenting its devastating effect on education, commerce, and livelihoods in eight local government areas.

The governor, who spoke on Monday in Katsina during the unveiling of an 18-month European Union–sponsored programme on Conflict Prevention, Crisis Response and Resilience, named the affected councils as Jibia, Batsari, Danmusa, Kankara, Safana, Sabuwa, Faskari and Dandume.

According to him, persistent bandit attacks and communal clashes have forced the closure of schools and markets, displaced families in their thousands, and driven farmers away from their farmlands.

“In these communities, children are being denied access to classrooms, parents are mourning their young, while elders have abandoned homes they inherited from generations past. What we face today is a security and humanitarian crisis of an extraordinary scale,” Radda said.

The governor further noted that natural challenges such as drought, desertification, and shrinking farmlands—exacerbated by outdated land management practices—have aggravated resource-based conflicts in the state.

He stressed that economic stagnation and surging youth unemployment were also deepening the crisis.

Radda explained that his administration is leveraging dialogue and community-driven agreements to restore calm, disclosing that the peace model had yielded encouraging results in Jibia, Batsari, Danmusa and Kurfi, while consultations remain ongoing in Kankara and Safana.