Sola Ojo, Kaduna
Four persons have been reported dead and one other critically injured after gunmen attacked Bakin Kogi village, Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State, yesterday.
Locals who confirmed the development, said the victims were palm wine tappers who came from another community to conduct their business, while their assailants attacked them in the bush and killed four of them, though one managed to escape with severe injuries.
A resident of the area, who did not want his name in print for security reasons, said: “Those that were killed were not members of Bakin Kogi, they were palm wine tappers from another community.
“They were in the bush tapping palm wine when they were attacked by unidentified gunmen. I cannot tell you where they came from for now. But they are not from our community here. Policemen have visited the place and evacuated their bodies. The area is calm as I speak with you.”
Another source claimed that “the attackers, in their numbers, stormed the village around 9am from the outskirts of the village and shot at innocent persons, killing four and injuring one. Other people at the scene escaped unhurt.”
When contacted on phone for confirmation, Commissioner of Police in Kaduna State, Austin Iwar, requested for more time before he could respond saying so many things were happening at the same time.
“I cannot confirm this to you now. Give me till tomorrow”, he said.
However, the command’s spokesman, ASP Mukhtar Aliyu, was quoted to have confirmed the incident though he was yet to get full details at press time.
“The divisional police officer and the area commander are collating assessment reports at the affected community,” the police spokesman said.