Bandits cross bridge manned by soldiers, kill 20 in Southern Kaduna communities

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Terrorists kill 8 in Niger, abduct 100 others

Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) has said that less than 24 hours after the attack on communities in Kauru, gunmen, on Tuesday, killed 20 persons in a fresh onslaught, Guardian reports.

It also alleged that the bandits crossed a bridge manned by soldiers to invade the communities and kill the inhabitants.

The spokesman for SOKAPU, Luka Binniyat, stated, yesterday: “The attackers crossed a bridge well manned by soldiers at Bakin Kogi market town and invaded neighbouring Apiababun village in Atyap Chiefdom, Zangon Kataf Local Council. They killed a pregnant woman, her two children (Bitrus and Samuel) and two children of her brother-in-law.

“Mrs. Naomi John, aged 32, was few days to delivery when the attackers, described as armed Fulani herdsmen, stormed Apiababun on Tuesday about 10a.m. and killed her.”

The group added that Naomi’s brother-in-law Michael John, escaped with serious machete cuts. The five victims were reportedly buried yesterday in a mass grave amid rumours that the killers would return.

IN its bid to clamp down on kidnappers in Benue State, Operation Zenda crack team of the police has killed one kidnapper and arrested two suspects.

Confirming the incident yesterday, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Caroline Anene, stated that the command received information that gunmen, who kidnapped Peter Ogbonna, a businessman at Ugba town, were hiding at Tse-Atoov, Alabar, Logo Local Council of the state.

According to Anene, the operatives quickly swung into action and invaded the hideout, and that the kidnappers, on sighting the police, challenged them in gunfire, which the police returned.

The police, she said, were able to subdue them, shot one and arrested two. She intimated that the fallen kidnapper’s body had been deposited at a morgue, while the arrested suspects, identified as Yakyuur Aondona and Teryange Myina, were undergoing interrogation by the police.

The victim, who was rescued unhurt, has reportedly been reunited with his family. A fabricated berretta pistol with four rounds of live ammunition was recovered from the suspects, The Guardian gathered.

She added that the cordon-and-search operation was ongoing to arrest fleeing suspects with gunshot wounds, even as members of the public with useful information about the whereabouts of these suspects were advised to quickly inform the police for necessary action.

NEO Black Movement of Africa Worldwide (NBM) has expressed concern over alleged genocide by Fulani bandits in Southern Kaduna.

In the statement signed by its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr. Oluwatosin Dixon, NBM noted that without singularity of purpose, there would be no development. It, therefore, called on Nigerians to rally round the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to stem the ugly tide.