Gunmen Kill 38 In Southern Kaduna

Gunmen have killed some 38 persons during a night raid on two villages in Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

It was gathered yesterday that the gunmen struck on Monday night during which many of the villagers, including women and children were killed. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Sanga Local Government Area Chairman, Emmanuel Adamu, according to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said in Sanga that the attacks were carried out simultaneously. “Twenty-one people were killed in Fadan Kashi while 17 were killed in Nandu,” he said.

He described the incident as unfortunate and condoled with the bereaved families just as he urged residents to remain calm. He said security agencies were tracking the attackers while measures had been adopted to forestall a recurrence.

A source said several telephone calls were made to the Divisional Police Officer at Sanga, but the officer was quoted as saying that the police lacked the firepower to confront the gunmen.

“Later, soldiers came but instead of going to the scene of the attack, they just parked their vehicle on the highway, saying that they didn’t have orders to go in,” the source added. According to him, the villagers killed about five of the assailants during the attacks.

He explained that the bodies of the victims had been deposited at the Gwantu General Hospital. Condemning the attacks, Governor Ramalan Yero described the incident as a “provocative attempt by some unpatriotic people to cause confusion and unrest.”

In a statement by his Director General, Media and Publicity, Ahmed Maiyaki, the governor condoled with families of the victims. He also called on the people of the state to remain calm as security forces had been deployed in the area to maintain law and order.

“We should remain united and resolute in resisting obvious attempts by agents of darkness to create confusion and sow seeds of discord in our state,” he said. According to him, security agencies have already been directed to commence investigation into the matter and are on the tracks of the suspects.