<p>A gang of cattle thieves has killed 41 vigilantes in Nigeria's troubled north in a forest ambush, police said.</p>.<p>The incident happened on Thursday in Katsina state when scores of vigilantes from several villages in the Bakori district mobilised to track down the gang, which had stolen cattle from a local the previous day.</p>.<p>Katsina state police spokesman Gambo Isah said late Friday the vigilantes were ambushed by the thieves, who killed 41 and injured two others.</p>.<p>He said the vigilantes were armed with Kalashnikov rifles.</p>.<p>"The hoodlums shot and killed 41 Yansakai (vigilantes) and wounded two," he said, adding that their bodies had been recovered.</p>.<p>"A joint security operation is currently ongoing with a view to bringing the perpetrators to book," he added.</p>.<p>Local residents said 52 people had been killed in the attack in Yargoje forest in the neighbouring Kankara district.</p>.<p>"The police went into the forest between Thursday and Friday and brought 52 bodies of the vigilantes in two batches," Idris Usman said.</p>.<p>He said dozens of other vigilantes were also brought to the hospital with injuries.</p>.<p>Another local, Abdullahi Sada, gave the same toll, saying the attackers were from neighbouring Zamfara state.</p>.<p>Katsina is among several states in northwest and central Nigeria terrorised by criminal gangs who raid villages, kill residents, kidnap for ransom, steal cattle and burn homes after looting them.</p>.<p>The gangs maintain camps in a vast forest straddling the states of Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna and Niger.</p>.<p>The southern part of Katsina, including Bakori and Kankara, lies near the border with Zamfara and have been repeatedly targeted by gangs based in the adjoining state.</p>.<p>More than 300 schoolboys were kidnapped by bandits in Kankara in December 2021. The pupils were taken to Zamfara and released after ransom was paid.</p>.<p>Local communities then formed vigilante groups to fight attacks by criminal gangs.</p>.<p>But the militia were outlawed by state authorities for lack of basic security training which, they say, exposes them to unnecessary danger.</p>.<p>"This unfortunate loss of lives of these vigilantes was the result of taking laws into their (own) hands," Ibrahim Ahmad Katsina, security adviser to the governor told AFP.</p>.<p>"We have told communities not to go after terrorists when they attack them but to promptly inform security agencies," he added.</p>
<p>A gang of cattle thieves has killed 41 vigilantes in Nigeria's troubled north in a forest ambush, police said.</p>.<p>The incident happened on Thursday in Katsina state when scores of vigilantes from several villages in the Bakori district mobilised to track down the gang, which had stolen cattle from a local the previous day.</p>.<p>Katsina state police spokesman Gambo Isah said late Friday the vigilantes were ambushed by the thieves, who killed 41 and injured two others.</p>.<p>He said the vigilantes were armed with Kalashnikov rifles.</p>.<p>"The hoodlums shot and killed 41 Yansakai (vigilantes) and wounded two," he said, adding that their bodies had been recovered.</p>.<p>"A joint security operation is currently ongoing with a view to bringing the perpetrators to book," he added.</p>.<p>Local residents said 52 people had been killed in the attack in Yargoje forest in the neighbouring Kankara district.</p>.<p>"The police went into the forest between Thursday and Friday and brought 52 bodies of the vigilantes in two batches," Idris Usman said.</p>.<p>He said dozens of other vigilantes were also brought to the hospital with injuries.</p>.<p>Another local, Abdullahi Sada, gave the same toll, saying the attackers were from neighbouring Zamfara state.</p>.<p>Katsina is among several states in northwest and central Nigeria terrorised by criminal gangs who raid villages, kill residents, kidnap for ransom, steal cattle and burn homes after looting them.</p>.<p>The gangs maintain camps in a vast forest straddling the states of Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna and Niger.</p>.<p>The southern part of Katsina, including Bakori and Kankara, lies near the border with Zamfara and have been repeatedly targeted by gangs based in the adjoining state.</p>.<p>More than 300 schoolboys were kidnapped by bandits in Kankara in December 2021. The pupils were taken to Zamfara and released after ransom was paid.</p>.<p>Local communities then formed vigilante groups to fight attacks by criminal gangs.</p>.<p>But the militia were outlawed by state authorities for lack of basic security training which, they say, exposes them to unnecessary danger.</p>.<p>"This unfortunate loss of lives of these vigilantes was the result of taking laws into their (own) hands," Ibrahim Ahmad Katsina, security adviser to the governor told AFP.</p>.<p>"We have told communities not to go after terrorists when they attack them but to promptly inform security agencies," he added.</p>