Terrorists attack Kaduna community, kill 23 residents, kidnap others

At least 23 persons were killed on Wednesday during an attack by terrorists at Anguwar Danko in Kakangi ward of Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The police spokesperson in Kaduna, Mansur Hassan, could not be reached immediately to comment on the attack. But PREMIUM TIMES saw a security report alerting officials about heightened criminal abduction in the area.

The internal memo confirmed the attack at Anguwar Danko at about 6 p.m. on 17 April.

The report indicated that the terrorists abducted an unspecified number of people during the attack.

“The bandits stormed the neighbourhood in large numbers, fired gunshots intermittently, and then dragged their victims away”, the security report said.

Residents and officials said an unspecified number of residents were also either kidnapped or could not be accounted for.

“Armed persons invaded our community on Wednesday, welding sophisticated weapons. They fired and killed at will and abducted several residents who we could not account for as of Thursday evening,” a resident told PREMIUM TIMES, asking not to be named for security reasons.

But the lawmaker who represents the area in the State House of Assembly, Yahaya Musa, on Thursday, said 23 people were killed and five others injured in the attack.

“There were casualties following Wednesday’s attack in my constituency, so far 23 people were buried on Thursday,” he said.

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He said 19 of the deceased were from Anguwar Danko while four were killed at Kanawa village.

Attacks by terrorists are frequent in the Birnin Gwari area and some parts of Kaduna State despite the presence of multiple security formations in the state.

Terrorists have turned Kaduna State into a war zone and made travelling between the state and Abuja and Niger State a nightmare with impudent attacks on road, rail and air facilities.

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Experts say the security situation does not reflect the fact that Kaduna has some of the most critical military and police establishments in the country.

While most states have one military base, a police command and a few other security outfits each, Kaduna has at least 15 military establishments including the premier Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). Yet, terrorists’ activities have wrapped the state in fear and anxiety.