It was a sad day for residents of Kaduna following a series of attacks by bandits in the early hours of Sunday that claimed 7 lives in different locations of the state. The criminals also abducted 46 people during the operations.
The communities attacked included Angwar Zalla Udawa in Chikun Local Government Area where one person was killed and 18 members of a family were abducted.
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The incident happened around 12:30 am Sunday when the bandits stormed the village along Kaduna -Birnin Gwari highway.
A community leader in Udawa, Muhammed Umaru, who confirmed to Daily Trust gave the name of the deceased as Bala Jaja.
He said married women, adults and young ladies were among those abducted.
“These are people I knew because we all lived in the same community. Bala Jaja is a well-known young man in the community and was killed when he came out to help his neighbours whose 18 members were taken away,” he said.
A similar attack also happened at Kerawa village in Giwa Local Government Area where16 members of the community were abducted and five others killed.
A former councillor in the area, Daiyabu Kerawa, who confirmed the incident to Daily Trust, said the town had been deserted after the attack.
According to him, the victims were buried around 1pm Sunday amidst fear.
“The bandits killed five people and abducted 16 others. We just concluded the burial as we speak. The saddest thing is that no security agencies came to our rescue during the attack despite being notified,” he said.
Another resident of the area simply identified as Jamilu said women, adults and children had all left the village for fear of being attacked by the bandits.
“By all indication, the bandits have succeeded in displacing our village because our people are fleeing in numbers. This is because we don’t have police or soldiers to protect the village,” he said.
The third attack took place at another community along Kaduna-Zaria highway called Sabon Gida under Unguwar Tsalha Maraban Jos, Igabi LGA where a married woman was killed and 12 people abducted.
A resident who craved anonymity said the woman tried to escape when she saw the bandits. But they shot her dead.
“About twelve people were abducted by the bandits after killing the woman,” he said.
The Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, confirmed the incidents in Kerawa and Ungwan Rimi-Afana road of Igabi and Zangon Kataf areas in a statement issued yesterday.
In a similar development, bandits have killed a farmer, Irimiya Musa and five other people in Jauro Manu village, Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State.
Daily Trust gathered that the gunmen, five in number, stormed the house of the large-scale farmer around 4.30pm Saturday.
The gunmen, each on a motorcycle, shot him in front of his house before shooting the five others who were playing cards at the same place.
It was further gathered that Musa and four others died on the spot while the sixth person, identified as Haruna, died at the Federal Medical Centre where he was taken to for treatment.
A source in the village told Daily Trust that the gunmen had attacked the house of the farmer on the 10th of September, 2021 but were repelled by the villagers who mobilised and confronted the gunmen.
The source further stated that one of the attackers at that time was killed and later identified as a herdsman residing with his parents at a Fulani settlement near the village.
He said the village had not been attacked since then until last Saturday, adding that there was confusion in the area as fear gripped the residents.
When contacted, the police spokesman for Taraba State, DSP Usman Abdullahi, said the DPO in Mutum Biyu headquarters of Gassol Local Government Area was yet to report the incident to the command.
