It was a bloody Easter for Asso village of Jema’a Local Government Area in the southern part of Kaduna state, as 13 persons were reported killed by unknown gunmen on the eve of the celebration.

The Nation gathered that the renewed killing in area occurred on Saturday night, when the gunmen stormed the village in their numbers, shooting sporadically.

An eye witness told The Nation that the incident occurred at about 7:00 pm on Saturday, after a peace and reconciliation meeting between locals and Fulani people aimed at finding lasting peace in the area was held.

He said the 12 persons died of bullet wounds when the attackers stormed the village and opened fire on innocent residents who were preparing for the Easter celebration.

The source said the attackers were heavily armed, adding that the operation lasted for about 30 minutes without any help from the security agencies deployed to the area.

He said three people were injured and had been rushed to the Kafanchan General Hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, Governor Nasir El-Rufai has condemned the attack, describing it as inhuman and callous.

The Governor in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Samuel Aruwan, condoled with the victims’ families, while affirming that security operations are being ramped to rid the forest areas of the bandits.

The Governor disclosed that a new security measure called ‘Operation Harbin Kunama (II)’, would soon be launched to help the Army deal with persons responsible for the attacks.

He, however, urged security agencies to double their efforts in fishing out those behind the killings, and to act promptly on carefully vetted intelligence.

El-Rufai also appealed for support of the communities to assist the security agencies with intelligence report to help nab the killers.

POSTED BY:OPUOMONI PRIYE

DATE:04/18/2017