30 Feared Dead as Gunmen Launch Deadly Midnight Attack on Kaduna Community

Author: Gist Correspondent

No fewer than 30 people, including women and children, were reportedly killed after heavily armed attackers invaded Naridon community in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State in the early hours of Monday.

Residents said the assailants stormed the village shortly before midnight, opening fire indiscriminately on sleeping residents before setting several houses ablaze. At least eight children were among those killed, while four other victims sustained varying degrees of injuries during the attack.

The Village Head\'s Secretary, Dogon Rana, said the gunmen unleashed terror on the community, leaving behind widespread destruction and grief. He confirmed that many homes were razed during the assault.

Another resident and youth leader, Ishaya Dawa, said several victims were slaughtered by the attackers, while the bodies of those killed had been evacuated to a mortuary. He described the victims as mostly women, children and elderly residents who were unable to escape the onslaught.

According to Dawa, security personnel only arrived in the community several hours after the attackers had fled, leaving residents to grapple with the aftermath of the deadly raid.

The latest attack adds to the growing insecurity in Nigeria\'s North-West and North-Central regions, where armed gangs and other criminal groups have continued to carry out deadly assaults on rural communities, despite ongoing security operations.

Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, Kaduna State Police Command spokesperson, Mansur Hassan, said the command would provide details on the incident after preliminary investigations.