Rampaging bandits have raided another Kaduna community, Gindin Dutse Makyali, in the Kufana area of Kajuru local government area in Kaduna State, killing 12 people and injuring nine others, while 17 houses were set on fire.
According to reports, the bandits entered the village around 5 a.m. on Sunday while the residents were still sleeping and began firing erratically.
Although the state’s police authorities have yet to acknowledge the occurrence, a community leader, Moses Musa, informed reporters that the attack occurred early Sunday morning near a military checkpoint.
He stated that nine of the victims were burned to death inside their rooms, while nine others had varied degrees of burn injuries from the fire.
The community leader reportedly said that the bandits burned 17 houses during the attack, which lasted several hours with little resistance from the troops stationed in the hamlet.
The attack in Kajuru came after the bandits invaded Kauru and Igabi local government areas, killing nine people and kidnapping 35 others, including a retired director of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), his younger brother, and his wife, in Kwassam and Sabon Layin communities last Friday night.
While working with security personnel and other essential stakeholders to address security concerns in the state, Governor Uba Sani stated that he had received security reports on increased bandit assaults in Kajuru, Kauru, and Igabi LGAs that resulted in deaths, kidnappings, and property destruction.
Governor Sani, who has been conducting discussions with security forces, strongly condemned the attacks and prayed for the souls of the victims.
He also urged the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to immediately help the affected people in Kajuru and Igabi LGAs following the destruction of some of their homes and assets.
According to Samuel Aruwan, the overseeing commissioner for the Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs in Kaduna State, the governor restated the government’s seriousness and commitment to addressing the state’s security concerns.