No fewer than 30 people have reportedly been killed after gunmen invaded Naridon village in Kamaru Ward, Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, in a deadly attack that occurred in the early hours of Monday.
According to reports, the attackers stormed the community at about 1:00 a.m., opening fire indiscriminately on residents while they were asleep.
Reacting to the incident, Amnesty International said many villagers who tried to flee into nearby bushes were chased down and killed by the attackers.
The organisation described the attack as one of the deadliest recorded in Southern Kaduna in recent times.
“The community has declared many people missing, and efforts are ongoing to ascertain the number of people killed, while more dead bodies are being discovered within homes and nearby farms,” Amnesty International said.
The human rights organisation also claimed that disturbing images from the scene showed entire families killed inside their homes.
“Children had their throats slit and their heads left with massive cuts. There was blood on beds, in kitchens and on the trails of those bleeding while trying to escape,” the statement added.
Amnesty International blamed the continued attacks on what it described as the failure of authorities to adequately protect vulnerable communities and bring perpetrators to justice.
“The spate of these killings is evidence of the failure of authorities to protect the people. The inability of authorities to bring attackers to justice is fueling impunity,” the organisation stated.
The group also noted that several communities in Southern Kaduna have suffered similar attacks multiple times over the years.
As of the time of filing this report, the Kaduna State Police Command had not released an official statement on the attack, while efforts to obtain comments from state government officials were unsuccessful.
