At least 21 people have been killed and many others injured in an attack carried out by gunmen in northern Nigeria between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, local police said Friday.
“There was an attack on some communities around (the) Zango-Kataf area. It took place on Wednesday night and about 21 persons lost their lives and others were injured,” said Mohammed Jalige, a state police spokesperson, who confirmed the attacks to Xinhua.
The attack happened in some villages in Zango-Kataf area of Kaduna State. More policemen have been deployed to forestall further attacks in those communities, and other security agencies were on top of the situation, Jalige said.
The spokesperson did not reveal the identity of the gunmen.
The Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, a local human rights group in Kaduna, said in a statement on Thursday that 33 people were killed in five villages of Zango-Kataf area of Kaduna by suspected Fulani militias.
In a statement made available to Xinhua, Simon Lalong, chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, expressed concern that the attacks on the villages were persistent in spite of all efforts by the state government and security agencies to end the violence.
He said the attacks in the villages showed the desperate attempt by criminals to not only cause pain and sorrow among innocent citizens, but also frustrate the efforts of the state government at fostering peace and harmony.
Northern Nigeria has seen a series of gunmen attacks in recent months, leading to deaths of troops and civilians. Security forces are engaged in several operations in that part of the country to root out illegal armed groups.
