Hundreds of residents of Malumfashi, Katsina State, on Tuesday staged a protest after gunmen attacked a mosque in Unguwa Muntau village, killing 13 worshippers during dawn prayers.
The protesters barricaded the Malumfashi–Funtua highway, a major route linking Kano with Funtua, Gusau and Sokoto, leaving motorists and commuters stranded for hours.
The demonstration later spread into Malumfashi town, causing total gridlock and forcing many travellers to abandon their journeys.
Eyewitnesses said the assailants stormed the mosque around 5 a.m. and opened fire on the congregation.
A resident, Abubakar, who narrowly escaped, told reporters that the attack was unprovoked. “They just entered and started shooting at people who were praying.
Thirteen people died instantly. It was something we had never seen before,” he said.
Angry residents responded by blocking the highway with stones, logs and burning tyres, demanding immediate government action to secure their communities.
The blockade caused a massive traffic jam, with some motorists stranded for more than three hours.
Others were forced to take long detours through rough village paths.
One stranded traveller said his seven-hour journey from Kano to Sokoto stretched to almost 24 hours due to the disruptions. “We spent hours stuck on the road with no intervention from security agents.
At one point, a protester threatened to set our vehicle on fire if we moved.
Eventually, a driver led us through rough paths before we got out,” he recounted.
The situation worsened further when travellers reached Miyanchi, about 30 kilometres from Zamfara State, only to find the road closed for the night under a security curfew that runs from 6:30 p.m. to dawn.
As of press time, security agencies had yet to issue a statement on either the killings or the protest.
The atmosphere in Malumfashi and surrounding communities remains tense, with residents calling on both state and federal authorities to take urgent steps to strengthen security in Katsina and other states plagued by banditry.