No fewer than 25 people were reported to have been killed in Mafang and Zilang villages in Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State by rampaging gunmen.
Over 4,000 people in the two villages were also said to have fled their homes to neighbouring villages following the attack which led to the burning of their houses.
Luka Bitiong, a resident of Zilang who is now a refugee at Fadan Attakar, said the attacks started on Saturday afternoon and lasted till Sunday night.
Bitiong said many residents of the affected communities were terrified by the sound of the guns used by the invaders and everybody ran for his dear life.
“When they came, we ran to the hills in Attakar. Many of our people were killed. We left the hills to seek refuge in Attakar because we were scared of going back home.
"Some of those who went back to our village to look at the level of destructions could not return as they were killed by the gunmen,” he said.
Also narrating the incident, another eyes witness, Matthew Bulus, from Mafang village, said the gunmen were dressed in black and armed with sophisticated weapons.
He said over 80 households in Mafang village had been displaced as their homes were set ablaze by the invaders suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.
Bulus said following the killings and the destruction of their homes, many of the displaced people were currently staying in Amisi Primary School, Fadan Attakar and Mifi villages.
“When the military men came, there was nothing much they could do because they don't know the terrain in our communities. They asked some of our youths to follow them and guide them, but our boys were scared of accompanying them since they (the boys) have no arms. But the soldiers eventually went to the hills in search of the invaders. We don't know whether they were able to make any arrest or not,” he narrated.
Also speaking on the telephone, the District Head of Mafang, Mr. Yusuf Bilong, who ran away from his community to Fadan Attakar, said the attack was deadly.
According to him, “I’ve never heard such sound of guns. The attack was launched on Saturday at about 3:00 p.m. The attackers shot at random killing mostly children and women.”
Confirming the incident in a telephone interview, the chairman of Kaura Local Government Area, Mr. Kumai Badu, said the attack was launched by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
According to the council chairman, a total of 19 people, mostly women and children from the two affected villages were confirmed dead while 10 others were seriously injured.
He said further that over 4,000 people had deserted the two villages and were taking refuge at Mifi, Fadan Attakar and other villages in the southern part of the state.
The chairman said many houses and food items belonging to residents of the two villages were burnt by the invaders.
He added that relief materials were being provided by the local government to alleviate the sufferings of those affected.
The spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, Aminu Lawal, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the attacks, saying however that he was not in a position to confirm the number of those killed in the incident.
“I know that there was an attack in the two villages you mentioned at the weekend, I know that people were killed, some were injured, but I am not in a position to tell you the number of those killed for now, but I will let you know soon.
"The two villages are adjoining the troubled areas in Plateau State, located on the hilly and rocky areas of Kaura Local Government Area bordering Plateau and Kaduna States.
“The area has a very difficult terrain, but a Joint Task Force comprising military and the police have been dispatched to the area to maintain order and fish out those behind the dastardly act," Lawan said.
Meanwhile the Kaduna State Governor, Alhaji Mukhtar Yero, has directed security agencies in the state to do everything possible to bring the perpetrators of the act to justice.
The governor in a statement issued by the Director General, Media and Publicity, Mallam Ahmed Maiyaki, also directed the state Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to immediately provide succour to all those displaced by the attack.
Yero commiserated with those who lost their loved ones and properties in the incident and urged the people of the area to remained calm as security agencies were working hard to unearth those behind the attacks.
The attack was coming on the heels of weekend warning by the Southern Kaduna People's Union (SOKAPU) about the influx of Fulani herdsmen to southern Kaduna communities.
President of SOKAPU, Dr. Ephraim Goje, had said the mass exodus of Fulani herdsmen from troubled areas in the neighbouring Plateau State to southern Kaduna communities was posing serious security threat to the people and had urged the Kaduna State government to do something about the situation before things got out of hand.
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