Weeping as gunmen kill 36 in Kaduna, Kastina
No fewer than 36 persons have been killed by gunmen in Kaduna and Katsina states.
While gunmen killed 17 persons in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area, LGA, of southern Kaduna state, about 19 villagers were killed and 15 others injured during a Saturday clash between vigilantes and terrorists in Kankara communities, Katsina State. The attack in Southern Kaduna perpetrated by several gunmen who were said to have stormed Zangon Kataf LGA at about 7:00 pm on Saturday led to the death of no fewer than 17 persons.
Zangon Kataf is one of the LGAs in the southern part of Kaduna that has witnessed killings over the years due to a complex number of problems including farmer-herder conflicts.
The Labour Party, LP, gubernatorial candidate, Jonathan Asake, hails from the LGA.
One of the residents informed that “The gunmen in their large numbers came at about 7:00 pm yesterday (Saturday),” the resident said via telephone on Sunday.
“As I am talking to you, we have so far recovered 17 corpses.”
Following the killing, the Zangon Kataf LGA administration has imposed a 24-hour curfew.
The media aide to the LGA Chairman, Yabo Ephraim, said the curfew would enable the army to restore peace and order in the affected areas, saying in a terse statement, “A 24-hour curfew has been imposed on Ungwan Juju, Mabuhu, Ungwan Wakili and Zangon Urban with immediate effect. This is to allow men of the Nigerian army to restore peace on that axis.”
Spokesman of Kaduna State Police Command, Muhammad Jalige, who confirmed the attack, among others, said “From the briefing I received from the Area Commander, trouble started a couple of days ago, when a boy rearing cattle was murdered. We have been trying to manage the situation while investigating the sad occurrence before trouble broke out.
“A joint security team will be combing the bushes in the area Sunday afternoon (yesterday) to search for bodies if there are any. They will also apprehend the suspects responsible for the killings.
“We are on top of the situation and all the hoodlums responsible would be rounded up. But for the timely intervention of joint security personnel coordinated by the Area Commander, the terrorists would have had a field day.”
“Repelling the hoodlums was a tedious task for our security agencies, but they were successful as the terrorists scampered away from the scene.”
Asake reacts
Reacting, Asake who called for calm in Zangon Kataf LGA, expressed shock over the attack and also condoled with the deceased families and prayed for the reposed of the souls of the victims.
In a statement, his Media aide, James Swam, among others, urged the Kaduna State government and security agencies to ensure that the perpetrators were brought to the book to serve as a deterrent to other criminal elements in the society, and forestall reprisal in other communities..
Vigilantes, terrorists clash
In the Kankara killing, it was gathered that the hoodlums were attending a wedding party (Walima) of one of their kingpins, identified as ‘Mai Katifa Mutuwa’ before the bloody clash between some of the hoodlum and the vigilantes.
According to the source, “Between 3 and 4 pm yesterday (Saturday), we learnt that some vigilante members clashed with some of the bandits who came to Majifa village to attend the wedding ceremony of one of their leaders, known as ‘Katifa Mutuwa.’
“The clash eventually led to the invasion of nearby villages in the area by the hoodlums shooting sporadically.”
The source said the terrorists killed five persons in Gurbi, and another 13 persons were found killed between Majifa, Makera and Gidan Jifau settlements.
Continuing, the source also informed that the terrorists invaded over 10 settlements in the area including Gurbi, Danmarke, Majifa, Gidan Baso, Gidan Sarka, Gidan Jiho, Gidan Ancho, Gidan Sanka, Dan mangoro, Gidan Sale, among others.
As at late Saturday night, the remains of 18 villagers killed in the attack were recovered while 15 others who sustained various degrees of injuries in the clash were taken to the Kankara General Hospital for medication.
One the injured died on the way to the Kankara Hospital, the source said.
“Right now, we can’t confirm the exact number of people killed because the search is still ongoing to discover if there are more victims. Fear couldn’t let us search through the night but hopefully, we should be able to ascertain the exact number of casualties this morning as the search for the casualties has already resumed,” the source added.
The spokesperson of Katsina State Police Command, Gambo Isah, who confirmed the clash, said “Yes, there was an attack at Majifa. We learnt some group of bandits from Zamfara, came for a celebration and later attacked Majifa village. We also learnt there were some cattle. Vanguard
