By Samuel Aruwan
Kaduna
Gunmen in the early hours of yesterday killed 73 persons in villages situated in the southern part of Kaduna state.
According to sources, the men conducted the killing spree using guns and matchetes in Fadan Karshi, Kabamu and Nandu villages in Sanga local government area.
They also burnt houses and injured dozens of locals.
A security source in the area said the attackers resurfaced around 1 p.m. in Kobin village and started killing and shooting at helpless villagers.
On sighting the gunmen, some of the locals took to their heels, while those not so lucky were killed.
Some escaped with bullet wounds and or machete cuts.
At around 2:30 p.m., when the story got to Gwantu town, the headquarters of the local government, violence broke out as some cars, motorcycles and houses were burnt to ashes.
According to eyewitnesses, residents of the area were seen moving their belongings to safety.
Blueprint gathered that soldiers soon arrived and pursued the gunmen, killing two of them while the rest escaped.
One of the attackers was captured in the forest with an AK-47 rifle with 27 rounds of ammunition at around 7 a.m. yesterday.
Chairman of Sanga local government area, Hon Emmanuel Adamu, went to the three villages and saw things for himself.
“The attack lasted for several hours, claiming the lives of 21 people at Kabamu village and 17 in the rest villages,” he said.
“The attack is uncalled for, and one cannot even describe an attack that killed many people. We lost 38 people in one night attack. This is condemnable in any disguise. We have a lot of injured. It was a massacre in the land.
“The soldiers killed two of the attackers and one was arrested with AK-47 and with 27 rounds of ammunition.”
A resident, Mr Mike Maikarfi, described the attackers as specialised mercenaries, going by how the killings were perpetrated.
Another resident, Mr Philip Ikita, said: “The vigilante youth had alerted the first village and people ran for cover at about 11 p.m. Monday night, but not all the people could run as mothers and children, amongst whom were my close cousin and her four children, were killed in their sleep.
“My friend’s frail old mother slept in the bushes, only returning to her home this morning.
“The return of electricity to Kabamu village at about midnight reportedly made the marauders to run off to a couple more villages, where they left another huge trail of deaths.”
Kaduna state Police Command said the affected areas were under control.
A spokesman for the police command said: “We have arrested three persons in connection to the crisis; they were arrested with AK-47 rifles and about 158 rounds of ammunition.
“We have deployed more security personnel to the area and the situation is under control as I speak to you now.
“Investigation into the remote causes of the crisis has commenced while those arrested are being interrogated to get further details of their involvement in the fracas.”
As at the time of this report, several corpses of victims had been taken to the General Hospital in Gwantu, while security operatives were still patrolling the areas.
The state Governor, Alhaji Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, has condemned the attack, describing it as a “provocative attempt by some unpatriotic people to cause confusion and unrest”.
In a statement issued by the Director General for Media and Publicity to the Governor, Malam Ahmed Maiyaki, the governor condoled with families of victims.
“We call on people in Fadan Karshi and other parts of the state to remain calm as security forces have already been deployed in the area to maintain law and order,” he said.
“We should remain united and resolute in resisting obvious attempts by agents of darkness to create confusion and sow seeds of discord in our state.”
Yero said security agencies had been directed to commence investigation into the matter and were on the tracks of the criminals.
“No stone shall be left unturned in our resolve to bring perpetrators of this attack and all other criminal assault on our people in the past to justice,” he said.
The governor called on the entire people of Kaduna state to continue to live in peace with one another and to become more vigilant in observing happenings in their areas with a view to assisting security agencies with relevant information on suspicious persons and movements within and around their communities.
Blueprint recalls that seven people were killed in May, this year, when gunmen attacked a police outpost in Fadan Karshi.
