Gunmen kill 38 in fresh Kaduna attack

Suspected gunmen, on Tuesday morning, invaded some villages in Sanga Council of Kaduna State, killing about 38 residents.

Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero has condemned the attack, describing it as a 'provocative attempt by some unpatriotic people to cause confusion and unrest.'

  According to a resident in the area who spoke under anonymity, yesterday's attacks were allegedly carried out by Fulani herdsmen,  who killed  21 at Kabamu - Karshi and 17 others  in Nandu villages respectively.

  He said: 'They came to our area with dangerous weapons shooting and setting our houses ablaze. Last weekend, some couples who went to farm were also killed. We were able to kill one of the attackers and arrested another. That is why we know that the attack was carried out by Fulani. Women and children were the major casualties in the attacks. We don't know the mission of the bandits.'

   Besides, Chairman of Sanga Local Government Area, Mr. Emmanuel Adamu who visited the scene of the attack, described the act as barbaric.

  Adamu, who confirmed the number of those killed, stressed that the attack started at about 10 p.m. on Monday up to the early hours of yesterday, adding, 'the attack lasted for several hours claiming the lives of 21 people at Kabamu village and 17 at Ankpong villages.'

   He, however, condoled with the affected families and appealed to the people to remain calm as security measures were been put in place to forestall reoccurrence.

  While condemning the attack, the Southern Kaduna group, under the umbrella of Concerned Realists of Southern Kaduna (CRSK),  in a statement yesterday by its Chairman, Dr. John Danfulani, said: 'We wish to tell the world that there is monumental failure in handling of security issues in Southern Kaduna by the Federal and Kaduna governments and security agencies, and we make bold to say that the state government is inciting crisis like in Chawai Chiefdom where two persons lost their lives at the weekend  when it appointed a traditional ruler while a suit  is pending in court.'

   He further remarked that 'the politicisation of the crisis in Jere Chiefdom by the state government and some powerful forces was also another sore issue.  

   While urging the Federal Government to immediately consider slamming a state of emergency in the state to put an end to the massacre going on, Danfulani stated that 'we refuse to be intimidated or harassed in expressing the reality of Southern Kaduna excruciating predicaments and failure of government and security agencies'.

  In a statement by his Director General, Media and Publicity, Ahmed Maiyaki, the governor condoled with families of victims of the attack, adding: 'We call on the people in Fadan Karshi and other parts of the state to remain calm as security forces have already 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.'

   The governor also urged the entire people of the state 'to continue to live in peace with one another and to become more vigilant with a view to assisting security agencies with relevant information on suspicious persons and movements within and around their communities.' 

   He further disclosed that security agencies have commenced investigation into the crisis and were on the track of the criminals.