Helicopter allegedly drops gunmen in Katsina, 10 shot, homes looted

DDM News

Residents of Gurbi village in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State faced terror on Friday evening after an alleged helicopter reportedly dropped armed bandits into the community.

The report, which has since gone viral, was amplified by Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) in its second-day follow-up of recent northern security incidents.

The platform emphasized rising concerns over aerial assistance to criminal groups operating in the region.

According to a post by a security analyst known as Bakatsine on his official X handle, the helicopter landed around a section of the village identified as Kuka Mai Zuma and dropped off the armed men in what residents have described as a well-coordinated attack.

A video accompanying the post showed a distraught resident recounting the terrifying moment in Hausa. He said the gunmen began shooting immediately after they disembarked from the aircraft.

“It didn’t even take up to five minutes after the helicopter dropped them that they opened fire,” he said. “They shot at least ten people. Those ones were rushed to the hospital.”

The attack, which lasted for nearly two hours, saw the bandits moving from house to house. They looted homes, destroyed property, and reportedly rustled every livestock they could find.

“They didn’t leave a single animal behind,” the resident lamented. “They took everything: cows, goats, rams. They even set vehicles ablaze.”

Eyewitnesses say at least ten vehicles were set on fire during the raid, which left many families displaced and scores of residents unaccounted for.

As of the time this report was compiled, no official response had been issued by state or federal authorities. The silence has further heightened public anxiety, especially given previous reports of aircraft allegedly supporting bandits in northern Nigeria.

Local leaders are calling for an urgent investigation into the role of the unidentified helicopter and are demanding aerial surveillance of the region to prevent a recurrence.

Human rights groups and civil society organizations have condemned the attack, describing it as a new and dangerous dimension in the security crisis facing the North-West.

The residents of Gurbi remain in shock, with several families still searching for missing loved ones amid the ruins left by the gunmen.

This incident adds to the growing pattern of insecurity in Katsina State, where communities continue to suffer repeated invasions despite heavy military presence in the region.

Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) has vowed to follow up on the incident and engage international human rights groups to pressure the Nigerian government for a thorough probe.

More details are expected as investigations continue and eyewitness accounts are compiled.

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