Gunmen kill 36 in Kaduna, Kastina

 

By Nurat Uthman

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.”