No fewer than nineteen people have been killed in fresh and reprisal attacks in Giwa local government area (LGA) of Kaduna State.
The killings and counter-killings occurred at Kaya community, which shares a boundary with Hayin-Kaura village, in Dandume LGA of Katsina State.
The State’s Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs in Kaduna, Samuel Aruwan, who confirmed the killings in a statement issued yesterday, disclosed that the gunmen, numbering about 50 and armed with AK-47 rifles, stormed Kaya town at about 6:30pm on Saturday and began shooting sporadically and kidnapped some locals, including two married women.
Aruwan further disclosed that several shops, five vehicles, and some motorcycles were also burnt by the attackers. He, however, said the bandits were fiercely pursued by a combined team of volunteers from Kaya and Hayin-Kaura, in keeping with their practice of supporting security efforts in their respective communities.
Picture caption: vehicle set on fire by the attackers
Three unidentified corpses said to be drivers in transit from Funtua, in Katsina State were also recovered, while nine persons sustained bullet wounds and were taken to the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), in Zaria.
In his reaction, Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufa’i, who was reportedly involved in coordinating responses to the attack on Saturday night, condoled with the families that lost their loved ones and prayed for the repose of their souls. The governor, while expressing his worry over the incident, asked the security agencies to carry out extensive investigations into the circumstances the led to the killings.
