No fewer than 30 people, including eight children, have been killed after suspected terrorists attacked Naridon Village in Kamaru Ward of Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, in the latest wave of violence to hit communities in Southern Kaduna.
The attackers reportedly stormed the community around 11 p.m. on Sunday, shooting indiscriminately, setting houses ablaze and leaving scores of residents dead, while others sustained injuries.
The Secretary to the Village Head of Naridon, Mr Dogon Rana, confirmed the attack to PUNCH Online in a telephone interview on Monday.
Describing the assault as unprecedented in the community, Rana said the attackers struck while some residents were still carrying out their evening activities and others had retired for the night.
According to him, 30 people have so far been confirmed dead, including eight children, while four others sustained critical injuries and are receiving treatment.
“We have confirmed the killing of 30 people, but we are afraid the death toll may rise because some of the injured are in critical condition,” Rana said.
He lamented that the community had been devastated by the attack, with many families losing loved ones and property worth millions of naira destroyed.
“There is someone in this village who lost five children in one night. The only surviving child is critically injured and fighting for his life. This is a tragedy that has thrown the entire community into mourning,” he said.
Rana added that his own house was among those razed by the attackers.
“My personal house was burnt down by the attackers. Several shops were also destroyed, including the house belonging to the late Mr Garba. Many families have been left homeless,” he said.
The village official disclosed that Naridon shares a boundary with parts of Plateau State and blamed the high casualty figure on the absence of a motorable access road, which, according to him, delayed emergency response and made it difficult for residents to escape.
“There is no accessible road to our community. If our road had been motorable, the casualty figure would not have been this high because help would have reached us on time and many people could have escaped,” he said.
He appealed to the Federal Government, the Kaduna State Government and security agencies to urgently deploy more security personnel to the area and commence the construction of an access road to the community.
“We are pleading with the government not to abandon us. We need security personnel to protect our people, and we need a good road. These attacks have become too frequent, and our people can no longer sleep with their eyes closed,” he added.
The latest attack has heightened fears among residents of Kauru Local Government Area, where several communities have suffered repeated attacks by armed groups in recent years, resulting in loss of lives, destruction of property and the displacement of residents.
Another resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons, alleged that 22 members of the Rana family were killed in the attack, while businesses in the area were destroyed.
The resident further claimed that the attack lasted about three hours without intervention from security personnel despite the presence of military formations in Kamaru and Ungwan Magaji, located about two kilometres from the community.
“As we speak, only one military officer and four Mobile Police officers have been deployed to the community,” the resident said.
Efforts to obtain the reaction of the Kaduna State Police Command were unsuccessful as calls to the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Mansir Hassan, were not answered.
A text message sent to his telephone line had yet to receive a response as of the time of filing this report.
Details later…