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Kaduna, Nigeria – In a gruesome attack that has shocked communities across Kaduna State, bandits are reported to have murdered three underage girls along with several other residents in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area. The attackers invaded the affected communities in multiple waves, shooting indiscriminately and leaving behind bodies strewn across farms and pathways.
Local sources say the raid occurred in the early hours of Thursday before dawn, when the assailants, wielding high-powered firearms, stormed remote villages. Survivors recounted how the bandits moved from house to house, dragging out victims before executing them. Many of the slain were women and children who were unable to flee. Some victims were found in their homes; others were discovered along access routes as they attempted to escape.
Within minutes, the criminals fled into the surrounding forest with stolen food items and livestock. Houses were looted, and panic engulfed residents who fled into the bush before daybreak. Community vigilantes said they arrived too late to mount significant resistance.
The loss has left entire hamlets stricken with grief. Mourners gathered at makeshift morgues in Birnin Gwari town, identifying their loved ones’ remains in the dim morning light. Many of the victims were schoolgirls, leaving behind parents who now face the nightmare of raising themselves without their bodies.
One distraught parent, speaking with tears, said: “The children were sleeping when they came. How do you explain to a six-year-old that she must never return to school because she won’t see her sister again?”
Community leaders have appealed to the Kaduna State Government and security agencies for urgent intervention. They demand the deployment of troops and helicopters to pursue the fleeing bandits and avert further massacres in adjacent communities. They also insist on thorough autopsies and forensic recording of the crime scene, saying this atrocity must not go unpunished.
As of now, the state police command has not released an official statement confirming the death toll or naming the affected villages within Birnin Gwari. It remains unclear how many, in total, were killed in the spree.
The latest attack comes amid a surging wave of bandit violence across northwest Nigeria, particularly in fringe communities of Kaduna, Zamfara, Niger, and Katsina states—areas long targeted due to their sparse security presence and remoteness.
The trauma from this latest carnage is likely to deepen the already profound sense of insecurity among rural dwellers in Kaduna. Many families say they no longer feel safe to farm, trade, or move unescorted—even within their own villages.