Four Killed, As Herdsmen Burn Homes in Southern Kaduna

Residents of Bakin Kogi in Southern Kaduna said no fewer than four corpses were recovered Monday morning, following an attack by suspected herdsmen on the town located in Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The town had come under attack at about 4pm on Sunday after herdsmen surrounded the town and commenced burning of homes and shooting in various directions. The intention of the attackers, according to one of the residents, seemed to be targeted at burning down houses.
Houses at Ungwar Sarki in Bakin Kogi were mostly affected, as youths in other sections of the two were on alert to confront the attackers. The deployment of the police and other military personnel stationed at Dan Goma, few kilometres to the area, prevented some youths from mobilising to chase away the attackers who were then were setting homes ablaze at Angwar Sarki.
According to a resident in the area who spoke to Forefront on Sunday night, the herdsmen had commenced intense attack on Bakin Kogi at 5pm after they had surrounded the surrounded the town.
“When soldiers from Dan Goma arrived to confront the herdsmen, the security personnel could not withstand the fire power of the attackers. They had to quickly beat a retreat for re-enforcement.
“As I speak to you, several homes have been destroyed, with residents abandoning the town for safer areas. The inhabitants of the attacked town were taken unawares and were not prepared for the attackers,” said the source.
On casualty figures, another resident disclosed that it was impossible to arrive at an exact figure, adding, “Amidst the shooting that took place for nearly four hours, it is impossible not to record loss of life. We can only arrive at the casualty figure by Monday morning. But for now, the destruction of the area has been massive. As at 9pm on Sunday night, additional re-enforcement of military personnel has brought the situation under control.