No fewer than 29 people have been killed in a fresh attack by bandits on Runji Village in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The attack which occurred at about 10 pm on Saturday night comes barely three days after bandits killed eight people at the Atak’Njei community also in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area.
The Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan who confirmed the latest incident in a statement, said that several houses in the community were burnt down while some residents were injured by the attackers.
He also disclosed that troops of the Nigerian military had a fierce encounter with the bandits and are still in the general area to maintain law and order.
On his part, the National President of Atyap Community Development Association, Sam Timbuwak told Channels Television that some of the bandits were equally killed by soldiers and some vigilantes who responded promptly to the area and engaged the criminals in a gun battle, adding that the casualty figure would have been higher if not for the intervention of soldiers.
Meanwhile, Governor Nasir El-Rufai has condemned the killings, describing them as unacceptable and unjustifiable.
The governor condoled the families that lost their loved ones and prayed for the repose of the soul of the victims’ souls as well as the speedy recovery of the injured.