SOUTHERN KADUNA ATTACK: Death Toll Rises To 17,Police Vow To Arrest Culprits
The death toll from last night’s attack on Ungwan Wakili community in Zango Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State has risen to 17.
Our correspondent who visited the scene of the attack counted 14 corpses recovered this morning, aside from the one person killed yesterday and the two people that died in the hospital.
It was gathered from the military on the ground that aside from the pockets of complaints of cow poisoning and destruction of farm produce by the locals and Fulani, which they have been resolving, the recent attack might be due to the killing of a Fulani herder four days ago in Ungwan Juju apparently in retaliation of the killing of one of their locals last month.
Speaking to newsmen, the council chairman, Zango Kataf Local Government, Mr Francis Sani Zimbo, condemned the barbaric attack assuring that investigations are on to unravel the perpetrators to bring them to book.
He expressed regret on why all the Mobile Police checkpoints within the affected communities were withdrawn before last night’s attack.
Meanwhile, the locals, while expressing their displeasure in protests, wondered how an attack will last about 40 minutes without a single attacker killed by the security operatives even with the presence of a forward operating base within the community.
Meanwhile, The Kaduna State Police Command has said that all culprits in connection with the renewed attack in Southern Kaduna will be decisively dealt with in accordance with the law.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Muhammad Jalige, told newsmen in Kaduna, the state capital that it was true that gunmen attacked the southern part of the state in the early hours of Sunday.
The police spokesman assured that security operatives were on top of the situation, noting that all the culprits involved would be rounded up.
He said, “From the briefing, I received from the Area Commander, trouble started a couple of days ago when a boy rearing cattle was murdered.
We have been trying to manage the situation while investigating the sad occurrence before trouble broke out.
“A joint security team will be combing the bushes in the area Sunday afternoon to search for bodies if there are any. They will also apprehend the suspects responsible for the killings.
“We are on top of the situation and all the hoodlums responsible would be rounded up.”
But for the timely intervention of joint security personnel coordinated by the Area Commander, the terrorists would have had a field day.
“Repelling the hoodlums was a tedious task for our security agencies, but they were successful as the terrorists scampered away from the scene.”
PUNCH