No fewer than seven worshippers were killed after bandits stormed a mosque at Saya-Saya Village in Ikara Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The incident reportedly happened on Friday night when Muslim worshippers were observing the Isha’i (Sunset) prayers in a local mosque in the area.
It was gathered that a vigilante leader in the area was one of the victims of the ugly attack which took place last night.
“Two other victims were killed by the bandits in other parts of the village,” a source who craved anonymity, said.
The community leader, Abdulrahaman Yusuf, who confirmed the incident, disclosed that the head of the vigilante in the village was among the victims killed inside the mosque while worshippers were praying.
According to him, the vigilante leader was trailed to the mosque where he and other victims were shot and killed.
“We suspected they traced the vigilante leader to the mosque to attack him. We were inside the mosque praying when they arrived and started shooting. Five persons were killed in the mosque, while a driver who brought food items to the village was also killed. The other person was killed at a nearby village,” he said.
Yusuf added that security has been beefed up in Ikara following the bandits’ attack.
He added that one of the victims with gunshot wounds had been rushed to the Aminu Kano Hospital in Kano State.
“Security agencies comprising soldiers and police from Ikara town and Palgore area arrived at the scene around 12:30 a.m,” saying that by the time the security agents came, the bandits had already left the village.
Meanwhile, the acting Public Relations Officer of the state Police Command, Mansir Alhassan, also confirmed the attack on Saturday.
Alhassan said police personnel had been mobilized to comb nearby bushes with the view to fish out the perpetrators of the dastardly act.
The PRO called on the public to report any suspicious movement or the presence of strange faces within their vicinities for prompt response by the force.
The police chief blamed the unfortunate incident on the community who failed to inform the police of the presence of the bandits in good time in order to foil the attack.
According to him, the bandits were spotted in the village on surveillance earlier in the day but none of the villagers could alert the appropriate security agency before the hoodlums struck in the night.
“The Command is not happy with the situation,” he said, while adding that, “the bandits went to the village around 4 pm, buying things from the villagers. Seeing strange faces, the villagers are supposed to communicate with the police in the area.
“The Commissioner of Police is drawing the attention of the public that whenever they see strange faces, they alert security agencies that are close to them.
“The public should assist the police in giving them prompt information for quick response.”