No fewer than five passengers were confirmed dead and three critically wounded after bandits armed with sophisticated weapons opened fire on a vehicle on Yantumaki-Danmusa Road in Katsina State.

An eyewitness said six of the passengers were returning from Benin City, Edo State, where they worked.

Another one was coming back from the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

“The incident happened yesterday (Saturday) in the morning. The bandits opened fire on the vehicle in protest of the killing of one of them by a team of policemen after repelling their attack and recovering over 30 rustled cows.

“The passengers spent the night in Yantumaki because they arrived there in the night. In the morning, they boarded the vehicle for Danmusa town from where they would take motorcycles to their villages. The vehicle was attacked a few minutes after leaving Yantumaki,” he said.

Danmusa Local Government Area is one of the most vulnerable areas in Katsina, sharing boundaries with the dreaded Rugu forest and areas like Safana, Kankara, and other communities in Zamfara State.