Death toll of northern Nigeria village attack rises to 58

08 May,2018 12:28 PM IST |  Abuja  |  IANS

Zubairu Mai Gwari, the traditional leader of the Gwaska village which was attacked over the weekend by unknown gunmen, told reporters the death toll rose from 45 to 58 as local security operatives dug out bodies of some victims in the area



Representational image

The death toll of an attack in Nigeria's central north state of Kaduna has increased to 58 as more bodies were recovered on Monday, authorities said. Zubairu Mai Gwari, the traditional leader of the Gwaska village which was attacked over the weekend by unknown gunmen, told reporters the death toll rose from 45 to 58 as local security operatives dug out bodies of some victims in the area, Xinhua reported.

Gwaskwa village is located in Birnin-Gwari, an area frequently attacked by gunmen in Kaduna. Zubairu said more people are still missing, following the attack. Local residents scampered for safety as the gunmen entered the village on Saturday, shooting indiscriminately. Governor Nasir El-Rufai said the establishment of a permanent Battalion of the Nigerian Army in the Birnin Gwari general area has been approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Nigeria's police chief Ibrahim Idris has also announced the creation of a Birnin Gwari Police Area Command and two new divisional police headquarters as a means of beefing up security in the area. In a move to track down the killers of Saturday's attack, the local police in Kaduna said combatant policemen have been assigned to comb Birnin Gwari.

Police spokesperson Mukhtar Aliyu told reporters in Kaduna city that no arrest has been made so far, but that the effort to arrest the killers has been intensified. Mostly children were killed during the attack. The attackers were believed to have entered the village from the northwestern state of Zamfara, a neighbouring state to Kaduna. Gwaska village is an encircled village of about 3,000 inhabitants. The village was also set ablaze during the attack.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
world news
Related Stories