Gunmen kill 11 in Southern Kaduna •10,000 displaced in Benue crisis —Commissioner

AGAIN, unknown gunmen, on Tuesday, killed 11 in Zangang village of Atakar chiefdom, Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

Eyewitness said more people were missing after the attack on Monday, while the injured were taken to the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH).

The eyewitness said the gunmen also burnt houses in the villages, including the house of the district head.

Speaking to journalists on phone, the district head of Zangang, Mr Yohanna Daniel, said the gunmen attacked them at the weekend, but Monday’s attack was more deadly, as the Fulani herdsmen trooped to the village in large number, shouting “Allahu akbar” and shooting sporadically.

Meanwhile, OVER 10,000 people were said to have been displaced as a result of the attack on the people of Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State by Fulani herdsmen, on Sunday.

The state Commissioner for Works and Transport, Mr John Ngbede, an indigene of the council, told newsmen in his office in Makurdi, on Tuesday, that over 20 villages were sacked during the invasion.

He alleged that the marauders were camped at Loko, in Nasarawa State and crossed the river to the council area for the attack, adding that those mostly affected were children and women.

It will be recalled that Fulani herdsmen had invaded the council two times within a week, leading to the death of over 50 people.

This is just as the state secretary of Myetialla Cattle Rearers Association, Garus Gololo, alleged that the invasion was as a result of move to recover their lost cows from the people of the area.

Ngbede, however, described the allegation as “unfounding and annoying,” saying “our people are not thieves. They are hardworking farmers who cannot steal any cow, the statement is unfounding and annoying.”

Meanwhile, following the serial attacks on the council, academic session has been halted, as schools within the area had been closed down.

The commissioner commended the response of the state , while he appealed to the police authorities to dispatch more mobile policemen to the troubled spots.