No fewer than 30 people, including eight children, have been killed following an attack by suspected terrorists on Naridon Village in Kamaru Ward of Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, in the latest wave of violence in Southern Kaduna.
The attackers reportedly stormed the community around 11 p.m. on Sunday, shooting indiscriminately, setting houses ablaze, and leaving scores dead, while several others sustained injuries.
The Secretary to the Village Head of Naridon, Mr Dogon Rana, confirmed the incident to journalists in a telephone interview on Monday.
Describing the assault as unprecedented, Rana said the attackers struck while some residents were still engaged in evening activities, while others had already retired for the night.
“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 lamented the scale of devastation, noting that many families lost loved ones, while property worth millions of naira was 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 added that his own residence was among those razed during the attack.
“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.
He disclosed that Naridon shares a boundary with parts of Plateau State and attributed the high casualty figure to the absence of a motorable access road, which delayed emergency response and hindered residents from escaping.
“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.
Rana appealed to the Federal Government, the Kaduna State Government, and security agencies to urgently deploy more personnel to the area and commence construction of an access road.
“We are pleading with the government not to abandon us. We need security personnel to protect our people, and we need a good road. These attacks have become too frequent, and our people can no longer sleep with their eyes closed,” he added.
The latest incident has heightened fears among residents of Kauru LGA, where several communities have suffered repeated attacks by armed groups in recent years, resulting in loss of lives, destruction of property, and displacement.
Another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, alleged that 22 members of the Rana family were killed, while businesses in the area were also 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.
Efforts to obtain a reaction from the Kaduna State Police Command were unsuccessful, as calls to the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Mansir Hassan, were not answered. A text message sent to his line had yet to receive a response as of the time of filing this report.