Many killed as armed persons attack Birnin Gwari, Kaduna

Armed persons on Saturday attacked residents of a Kaduna community killing many people, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.

The bandits attacked Gwaska village in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area at about 2:30 p.m., residents of the council area said.

The bandits came from neighboring Dansadau village of Zamfara State, about 10 minutes’ drive to Birnin Gwari, residents said.

Several houses in the village of about 3,000 inhabitants were also set ablaze.

A Former Birnin Gwari Local Government chairman who does not want his name mentioned for security reasons confirmed the incident.

He described the attack as the worst in the troubled the area.

“These bandits attacked the village in broad daylight and killed many people. They even killed the village Sarkin Fawa (Head of local vigilante) on his way back to the village.

“Nobody can tell you the exact number of people killed because even on the way to the village 15 bodies were scattered on the road,” he said.

He said until soldiers are deployed to the area, nobody can go there to ascertain the number of people killed

The former chairman said it will take days to know the exact number of people killed in the attack.

“Police can’t end these killings in Birnin Gwari. We need more soldiers in the area to curtail the killings of our people,” he said.

Another community leader in Birnin Gwari, who identified himself as Hussaini, said more than 20 people were killed by the bandits.

He said many others, including women and children, were displaced.

When contacted, the spokesman to the Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Samuel Aruwan, did not respond to a text message sent to him on the matter, as at the time of this report.

The State Commissioner of Police, Austin Iwar, also did not answer his call but sent a text message to say he was in a church.

Birnin Gwari has witnessed several attacks by bandits leading to the death of scores of people including soldiers and police officers.