At least 30 people, including eight children, have been killed by suspected terrorists during a raid on Naridon Village in Kamaru Ward of Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, in a renewed attack on on communities in Christian-dominated Southern Kaduna, Northwest Nigeria.
The terrorists reportedly stormed the community around 11 p.m. on Sunday, shooting indiscriminately and setting houses ablaze, which left scores residents dead.
Many others sustained injuries.
This comes amid vote by the US House of Represenatives to suspend all aids to Nigeria, over allegations that the President Bola Tinubu Government is not doing enough to stop alleged Christian genocide in his country.
The Secretary to the Village Head of Naridon, Mr Dogon Rana, confirmed the lates attack to the press on Monday.
He said the assault was unprecedented in the community.
According to Rana, the attackers struck while some residents were still carrying out their evening activities and others had retired for the night.
He confirmed that 30 people were killed, including eight children, while those who sustained critical injuries 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 added 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 disclosed 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 noted 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.
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.
The Kaduna State Police Command Public Relations Officer, DSP Mansir Hassan had yet to comment on the incident as at the time of filing this report.