Govt Vows Justice For Massacred Malumfashi Worshippers

Govt Vows Justice For Massacred Malumfashi Worshippers

By Abiola Adigun

The Federal Government has vowed to hunt down and prosecute the killers of worshippers in Malumfashi Local Government Area of Katsina State, describing the brutal assault as “callous, barbaric and an affront to the nation’s shared humanity.”
The victims were said to have gathered in a mosque on Wednesday evening when gunmen suspected to be terrorists stormed the community, opening fire indiscriminately and leaving scores dead and others injured. The incident has sparked outrage across the country and renewed calls for stronger security measures in Nigeria’s troubled North-West.
In a strongly worded statement, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said security forces had been deployed and were already “on the trail of the criminals.”
“No stone will be left unturned until they are apprehended and held accountable for their actions. Justice will be swift and decisive,” the Minister assured.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, while extending condolences to the families of the deceased and the people of Katsina State, pledged that his administration would not relent until terrorism is defeated.
“Their grief is our grief, and the Government stands with them at this dark hour. May the Almighty grant the departed eternal rest and console the bereaved with fortitude,” Tinubu said in the statement.
The President’s message comes amid heightened security operations across the North-West, where banditry, kidnapping and terror attacks have plagued rural communities for years.
The attack in Malumfashi is a grim reminder that, despite recent breakthroughs, violent groups still pose a grave threat to peace and stability. Only last week, the National Counter-Insurgency Centre (NCTC) announced the arrest of top terrorist commanders, including Mahmud al-Nigeri of the Mahmuda group, his deputy Abu Abba, and Mahmud Muhammad Usman (Abu Baraa) of the Ansaru faction—figures who had been on international wanted lists.
Security analysts say these arrests represent a major blow to terror networks, but also warn that splinter groups and loyalists may still unleash retaliatory attacks on soft targets.
Dr. Kemi Adebayo, a conflict resolution expert, told Africa’s Media Giant that the Malumfashi killings show “why the government must pair hard military crackdowns with community intelligence and social investments.”
“These groups thrive where poverty and despair create fertile ground for recruitment. The government’s security successes must now be matched with efforts to win the hearts of communities long abandoned,” she said.
The killings have sparked nationwide outrage. Former Senator Shehu Sani described the incident on X (formerly Twitter) as “a national tragedy that underscores the fragility of rural security.” He urged the government to “move from condolences to concrete community protection.”
A resident of Malumfashi who lost two relatives in the attack told reporters:
“We want justice, but more importantly, we want safety. Our villages should not be killing fields.”
Civil society groups, including the Coalition Against Terrorism in Nigeria (CATIN), have also demanded accelerated trials of arrested terror suspects to send a strong signal that impunity will no longer be tolerated.
Reaffirming the administration’s stance, Idris declared that “those who shed innocent blood will find no hiding place in Nigeria.” He added that President Tinubu had directed the security agencies to intensify counter-terror operations until “acts of terrorism become a spectre of the past.”
For many Nigerians, the government’s ability to swiftly arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of the Malumfashi killings will be a litmus test of its resolve to tame the scourge of insecurity and restore peace to affected communities.