Gunmen suspected to be an armed robbery gang
in the early hours of yesterday invaded Dogon Dawa village, near Birnin-Gwari,
some 100 kilometres from Kaduna metropolis in Kaduna state and killed at least
20 persons including Muslim worshippers who were leaving the mosque after
performing their early morning prayer.
This is barely two weeks after about 30 students
of Mubi Polytechnic in Adamawa state were massacred by yet to be apprehended
gunmen.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers embarked on a
house to house search for some victims after which they started shooting
indiscriminately resulting in the high death toll. Some of the victims were also
stabbed to death by the attackers.
A resident who pleaded anonymity said that the
attackers had stormed the house of the man they believed tipped the police off
and killed him and his two children after which they cut the hand of his wife.
He said most of those killed by the gang were just coming from early morning
prayer.
According to him, “this morning (yesterday), the
criminals went to the house of the man they suspected to be responsible for
identifying them, killed him and two of his children and cut the hand of his
wife.
“They also killed 17 other people in the village.
Those people they killed were just coming from the early morning prayers. I can
confirm to you that it was not a robbery operation, it was the criminals who
went on a reprisal because the people have been identifying them”, he said.
Though police authorities have yet to identify
the killers, there were reports that the gang had earlier written a letter to
the community in which they threatened revenge by attacking the village.
A resident said due to the incessant attacks by
armed robbers, the community had set up a committee to help fish out the
culprits, a decision that yielded dividends as they were able to identify some
of the criminals.
“A former hakimi (village leader) in Dogo Dawa
was in charge of the committee that was responsible for sanitizing the area and
that is why in the last three months, there has been less incidents of robbery
in the area as the people were able to identify the criminals and they were
being eliminated silently one after the other”, he said.
In the same vein, a traditional ruler in a
neighbouring community told newsmen that he suspected that the attackers were
armed robbers on revenge mission.
“We are suspecting a reprisal by gangs of armed
robbers who lost some of their members after a recent exchange of fire with the
villagers and the vigilantes. The village had been terrorised by an armed group
operating from camps in the forest. These armed men mostly attack villages and
motorists along the busy Kaduna to Lagos highway.”
Kaduna state Commissioner of Police, Olufemi
Adenaike, who confirmed the incident said he could not confirm the number of
those killed in the attack and who were responsible.
According to him, “some people are saying the
attackers were Fulani herdsmen who were probably on reprisal attack but the
question is; what reprisal attack?
“So, my men have moved to the scene to get
details of the incident. We could not get immediate information from the area
because the network there is very poor but as soon as we get the details and
number of people killed, we will let you know.”
The situation has heightened fears in the area as
residents have started fleeing the villages around Dogo Daji for fears of
further attacks.
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