Tension as gunmen kill 11 in Southern Kaduna

It was another bloodshed in Southern Kaduna yesterday when gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen invaded three villages around Godogodo town in Jema’a Local Council. Eleven persons were feared killed in the attack.

According to sources, several other people sustained injuries while some houses were torched in the villages.Governor Nasir El-Rufai was said to have expressed regret over the violence when he met with the traditional rulers at the State House, Kawo, yesterday.

A source at the meeting told The Guardian that “the governor urged the royal fathers to ensure that there is peace in their domains. He told them how the royal fathers in Godogodo where the tension rose were sleepless through the night trying to quell the tension and ensure that it did not escalate.”

The villages where violence were recorded include Gada Biyu, where six men and three women were said to have been killed; Akwa’a, which lost two men, but was not vandalised; and Anguwan Anjo, where no life was lost, but shooting was ongoing even at the time of going to press, according to the source.

Kaduna State Police Command spokesman, Aliyu Usman, said he was yet to get details of the attack, but assured that the situation had been brought under control.A distressed villager, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “A large number of Fulani men invaded Gada Biyu, two kilometres from Godogodo around 6 a.m. on Monday morning and started shooting, stabbing people and burning houses. People fled in different directions.

“The Police were quick to arrive, but the invaders fled into the bushes. When they left, four bodies were seen at the scenes. Today, after combing the bushes five more were found, among them three women.

“When the killers escaped from Gida Biyu, they resurfaced at Akua’a this morning and killed two people. But they did not burn any house there. The Police arrived on time again, and they ran away. This afternoon they appeared at Agwan Anjo and started shooting, but by this time people have fled the village.”