The death toll from last night’s attack on Ungwan Wakili community in Zango Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State has risen to 17.
Our correspondent who visited the scene of the attack counted 14 corpses recovered this morning, aside from the one person killed yesterday and the two people that died in the hospital.
We gathered from the military on the ground that aside from the pockets of complaints of cow poisoning and destruction of farm produce by the locals and Fulani, which they have been resolving, the recent attack might be due to the killing of a Fulani herder four days ago in Ungwan Juju apparently in retaliation of the killing of one of their locals last month.
Speaking to newsmen, the council chairman, Zango Kataf Local Government, Mr Francis Sani Zimbo, condemned the barbaric attack assuring that investigations are on to unravel the perpetrators to bring them to book.
He expressed regret on why all the Mobile Police checkpoints within the affected communities were withdrawn before last night’s attack.
Meanwhile, the locals, while expressing their displeasure in protests, wondered how an attack will last about 40 minutes without a single attacker killed by the security operatives even with the presence of a forward operating base within the community.
By Israel Bulus
The PUNCH