BREAKING: Residents Flee Katsina Over Planned Arrests Of Youths Who Stoned APC Convoy
Fear has reportedly spread across Yankara community in Katsina State as several residents, particularly youths, flee their homes over alleged plans by security operatives to arrest those who attacked an APC campaign convoy.
The youths are suspected of participating in Saturday’s attack in which stones were reportedly thrown at vehicles conveying members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign team.
Residents who spoke on Monday said they had received warnings through telephone calls that security operatives were preparing to arrest individuals believed to have taken part in the incident.
Some of them alleged that Governor Dikko Umaru Radda had directed the Department of State Services (DSS) to track down and arrest the suspected attackers.
The alleged arrest plans have reportedly forced some residents to abandon their homes for fear of being picked up by security operatives.
A resident, who admitted that some youths participated in throwing stones at the convoy, said the situation became tense after footage of the incident went viral on social media.
“Many people have started calling us to leave the house because the video went viral and reached the Katsina government. It is true we stoned those vehicles, but we are not sure if those stones hit anybody inside. But what we heard was that we injured a lot of people,” the resident said.
He claimed that parents of the youths had condemned their actions but expressed concern that the situation had now exposed them to possible arrest.
“Immediately after the incident, our parents scolded us. They said even if we do not want to vote for APC, there was no reason to stone them. Now, we cannot stay at home again because even on Sunday, APC loyalists started looking for us and they said Governor Radda had ordered the DSS to arrest us for injuring APC campaign team. As I am speaking to you, I have left the town,” he said.
A video obtained by Naija News House captured the moment vehicles in the APC campaign convoy attempted to move through a hostile crowd as stones were thrown at them.
The campaign team reportedly alleged that several people sustained injuries during the incident.
The latest development adds to a series of attacks involving APC supporters and campaign convoys in Katsina State amid growing political tension ahead of the 2027 elections.
Last Thursday, Naija News House reported that the Katsina State Police Command arrested 14 persons over an earlier attack on an APC supporters’ convoy along the Yashi–Funtua road in Malumfashi Local Government Area.
The attack happened last Wednesday as the convoy travelled to Funtua for a campaign flag-off ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The police alleged that suspected political thugs armed with knives and stones attacked the convoy and passing commercial vehicles, smashing windscreens and damaging several vehicles.
A female passenger travelling in a commercial vehicle was also reportedly injured.
Footage obtained by Naija News House showed several vehicles with shattered windscreens parked along a major road leading to the campaign venue. A vehicle fitted with a loudspeaker was also seen with its windscreen damaged.
Some women who appeared to have sustained injuries to their arms were also captured in the footage, although the circumstances surrounding their injuries were not immediately established.
The police confirmed the arrest of 14 suspects in a statement issued by the command’s spokesperson, DSP Abubakar Sadiq.
The suspects include Sagir Musa Maikudi, Abubakar Aliyu, Fahat Aminu, Mubarak Kabir, Shamsu Aliyu, Buhari Adamu, Imrana Dalha, Suleiman Sani, Ismail Nasir, Abdulganiyu Babangida, Hassan Gambo, Abbas Tukur, Gaddafi Sani and Abdulkadir Muktar.
The command said officers deployed along the route responded to the attack, restored order and arrested the suspects, while efforts were ongoing to apprehend others who fled.
Commissioner of Police Ali Umar Fage condemned the attacks, warning that the command would not tolerate political violence, thuggery or activities capable of threatening public peace during the electioneering period.
