Unknown gunmen on Monday night invaded Gora Gan village in Zango Kataf Local Government Area (LGA) of Kaduna state killing the village head and nine others including a six-year-old boy, while many others were injured.
This is coming barely 24 hours after 21 youths were shot to death and 33 others injured at a wedding in Kukum Daji Village, Kaura LGA of Kaduna state.
According to information made available to Blueprint, those killed in the latest attack include a 6-year-old boy, while many other villagers sustained varying degrees of injuries.
Eyewitnesses said the gunmen numbering about 20 invaded the village around 7.10pm on Monday night and started shooting sporadically at everybody in sight.
Vice Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) of Zango Kataf LGA, Pastor Isaac Ango-Makama, who confirmed the incident, said several houses were burnt during the attack.
He said corpses of the victims have been taken at the Zonkwa General Hospital morgue, while the injured were rushed to an undisclosed hospital for treatment. “The villagers are still searching for their missing loved ones.”
Secretary of the Mercy Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp, Zonkwa, Ezekiel James, said they are already overstretched and are in dire need of assistance to cater for the displaced persons. James added that the IDPs camp was daily receiving victims who had been displaced following persistent attacks on neighbouring villages.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Kaduna state chapter has condemned the attack, saying that the spate of attacks on villages in Southern Kaduna was unacceptable. The party’s state Publicity Secretary, Abraham Catoh in the statement, said that the state Governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai was not doing enough to curb the insecurity in the state.
When sought after for confirmation, Kaduna state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Muhammad Jalige, did not respond to calls put across to him.
The injured survivors of Sunday night attack on Kukum Daji Village in Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna state that left 21 people dead have narrated how they were attacked.
The attack with rifles and other dangerous weapons left 19 people, mostly youths dead on the spot, while two others died on their way to the hospital.
But 19 of the seriously injured survivors are presently receiving treatment at Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital in Kaduna, while others with minor injuries are being treated at a government hospital in Kafanchan.
One of the injured victims of the attack, James Musa, called for government’s assistance, saying that there were still bullets in his body that would require surgery to remove them.
Musa, while narrating how the incident happened said, he only escaped by God’s grace, as many of his friends died immediately on the spot of the attack.
“Yesterday, we were at a party, it was our friend that got married. So we were celebrating with the new couple. We were about to leave the venue, all of a sudden, we started hearing gunshots. It was between 10:30pm to 11:00pm. Some people said the people who shot us wore military camouflage, but for me, I didn’t even see the attackers, I was just hit by bullets.
“The gunshots went on for sometime, but some of us were able to hide. That was the last thing I saw, because I didn’t even know whether I fainted or something. But those that escaped last from the scene said, the gunmen came on motorcycles.
“There are even bullets in my body right now, the bullets have not been removed. Government should please help us and ensure our lives are saved. They killed many of our friends both males and females, for doing nothing. I and others just escaped by the grace of God too,” he said.
The attack by unknown gunmen left 21 people dead while more than 30 others sustained various degrees of injury.
There is currently a 24-hour curfew in Kaura and Zango Kataf local government areas imposed by the Kaduna state government following a sectarian crisis that erupted after a farmer was found murdered on his farm early last month.
The Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Mohammed Jalige, confirmed the attack, though, he said police were yet to ascertain the number of victims.
Blueprint