A crop of unknown gunmen on Tuesday, raided Zangang village of Atakar Chiefdom, Kaura local government area of Kaduna state, killing 11 people.
Several others sustained injuries from gun shots and were said to have been rushed to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) in the neighbouring Plateau state.
The invaders reportedly burnt many houses in the attack which started on Sunday and became more ferocious Tuesday.
The Kaduna state government has condemned the attack, saying measures were being taking to ensure lasting peace in the area.
The district head of the area Mr. Yohanna Daniel whose house was also burnt and was believed to have died, said he escaped death by providence.
He alleged that their attackers were Fulani herds men who came in a large number, shouting “Allah akbar (Allah is great) and shooting sporadically at people
He said they were dressed in black and red colours and were wielding AK 47 guns and pursuing people like chickens.
Daniel further alleged that the security personnel deployed to the area were not on ground when the gun men arrived and even when they came following the attack, they were complaining that they were hungry and left after some time.
“On Sunday we did not go to church. They attacked us again. Two of our boys were shot and were rushed to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) in Plateau state. On Sunday we sat down and discussed and we said there was the need for us to find a solution to this problem because these people are going about with their cows, carrying sophisticated guns.
“They will enter your farm and once you talk to them, they will open fire on you. We felt this will not help us and we thought there is need for us to all come together and address this issue amongst ourselves.
“Soldiers from Jos (Joint Task Force) from Plateau and Kaduna states gave order that nobody among my children who have Dane gun that they have been using for hunting not to use it for hunting again.
“Today they were armed with AK47. This is not an assumption; this is what they are using. We sat down and discussed with them, thinking that they will take our message to them, but that was not to be so. They went and planed another attack on us.
“Those who entered my village were well armed. It was like some of the things I used to watch in the movies. They were dressed in black and red, with sophisticated guns. They entered our village and were shouting “Allahu Akbar”, they were in large number. I cannot tell how many they were, but they were in large number.
“They started shooting us and everybody was running for his dear life. They were pursuing us like chickens. I was lucky; otherwise you would have heard that the District head was killed. I just managed to escape. When my people didn’t see me, they thought that I was killed. But they burn
t my house and several other houses.
“We have discovered 11 corpses and we are just burying the corpses now. We are still searching for more bodies because many people are still missing. The police ordered us to do the burial. The police came and took pictures of everything and the names of those who were killed.
“We are under serious threat of elimination here and nobody seems to be telling the world about the danger we are facing in the hands of these fulanis.
“They go about with AK47 guns and are terrorising our communities. We cannot defend ourselves because we don’t have arms like them. We are really finding it difficult to survive here”.
“We are told that there is security, whereas there is no security. If there is security why are these people always attacking us at will and killing us?
“If the soldiers that are deployed here had spent the whole day here on Sunday after we agreed with them that they will continue patrolling the area, but within one hour, they left.
“Since this incident happened today, they came but they complained to me that they were hungry. I don’t know the level I can tell you to understand the seriousness of what is happening here.
“I am a village man nobody may hear me but I am speaking the truth. The Fulani want to pursue us from our lands”.
The incident was said to have dominated discussions at the state security council meeting presided by governor Muktar Yero .
Spokesman of the governor, Mallam Ahmed Maiyaki in a telephone interview said that the state government was working out a solution to the problem of in the area.
According to Maiyaki, “this incident has happened repeatedly, what government has resolved to do is to have direct engagement with the people of this community and the Fulani leadership for a lasting solution to the problem.
“Government commiserates with the victims of the unfortunate attack. Government has also directed security agencies to intensify the provision of security” Maiyaki said.
All efforts to get the police reaction failed as the spokesman of the Kaduna state police command DSP Aminu Lawan failed as he did not respond to the reporter’s phone calls. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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