By Charles Pemu 
In a dramatic show of community resilience, villagers in Kurfi Local Government Area of Katsina State on Tuesday, June 25, 2025, repelled a group of armed terrorists who attempted a kidnapping raid, leaving none of the assailants alive.
The attempted abduction, typical of the escalating wave of insecurity plaguing parts of northern Nigeria, took a surprising turn when local residents armed with machetes, dane guns, bows and arrows, mobilised en masse and confronted the attackers head-on. According to eyewitnesses, the villagers, driven by a fierce determination to protect their lives and families, managed to overpower and eliminate all members of the terrorist group.
This unprecedented act of communal resistance has sparked conversations across the country about the right to self-defense in the face of state security challenges.
Local government chairman, who visited the scene shortly after the incident, was received with jubilation. Many villagers credited his continued encouragement of local vigilance groups and his call for citizens to be proactive in defending their communities as instrumental in their readiness to act.
“This is a wake-up call to Nigerians,” one resident said. “Self-defense is not a crime. You don’t wait and allow someone to come into your home to kidnap or kill you without a fight.”
While many have praised the bravery of the Kurfi villagers, others are calling for the urgent strengthening of local security structures to prevent future occurrences, stressing that citizens should not be left to fend for themselves without formal support.
The successful resistance in Kurfi underscores growing frustration among Nigerians over the persistent threat of banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism, and the perceived slow response of conventional security agencies.
As the story of the villagers’ bravery spreads, it adds to mounting calls for community-based security strategies and legal reforms that recognise and protect the right to self-defense under extraordinary circumstances.