Tinubu orders security chiefs to fish out Kaduna killers

President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday condemned the midnight massacre of at least 30 residents, including eight children, in Naridon Village, Kamaru Ward of Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

He described the attack as a barbaric and cowardly act of terror against defenceless people and directed the Armed Forces, police and intelligence agencies to immediately intensify operations to track down the perpetrators.

Tinubu gave the order in a statement signed on Tuesday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, titled ‘President Tinubu Strongly Condemns Attack In Kauru Local Government Area Of Kaduna State.’

According to Onanuga, the President also expressed profound condolences to the bereaved families, Governor Uba Sani and the people of Kaduna State, and reassured the state government and affected communities that the Federal Government stood firmly with them in their grief.

said, “I have directed the Armed Forces, police, and relevant intelligence agencies to intensify operations across the affected areas to track down the perpetrators swiftly, secure the release of abducted individuals, and restore normalcy to the region.

“Our administration has an unwavering commitment to strengthening security infrastructure, equipping response personnel, and neutralising criminal networks attempting to disrupt the peace of the nation.

“I urge our local communities to cooperate with security forces by providing actionable intelligence that would help early response efforts.”

The gunmen reportedly invaded Naridon Village around 11 pm on Sunday, firing indiscriminately at residents before setting homes and shops ablaze.

Survivors said the attackers operated for hours, leaving behind widespread destruction, grieving families and scores of displaced residents.

The Secretary to the Village Head of Naridon, Mr Dogon Rana, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview on Monday, describing the attack as one of the deadliest the community had witnessed in recent times.

He alleged that 22 members of the Rana family were among those killed during the invasion, adding that despite the presence of military formations approximately two kilometres away in nearby Kamaru and Ungwan Magaji, help did not arrive while the attack was ongoing.

Naridon is a border community between Kaduna State and Ganawuri in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The Kaduna State Government said it would work with the Plateau State Government, security agencies, traditional institutions and other stakeholders to strengthen security cooperation and protect communities along the Kaduna-Plateau border.

Amnesty International, in a statement issued on Monday, described the assault as one of the deadliest attacks on communities in Southern Kaduna in recent years.

It said gunmen stormed the village, killed residents and pursued those who fled into nearby bushes, where many were reportedly slaughtered.

Dozens of residents remain unaccounted for, with local efforts to determine the full death toll ongoing as more bodies continue to be discovered in homes and surrounding farmlands.

The Kaduna State Government, in a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Ahmed Maiyaki, said the governor had directed the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency to provide immediate relief and humanitarian assistance to affected families, while ordering security agencies to intensify efforts to arrest those responsible for the killings.

The Naridon attack is the latest in a pattern of recurring communal violence in Southern Kaduna that has claimed hundreds of lives over the past decade.

The zone, which comprises predominantly Christian farming communities, has been subjected to cycles of armed attacks, largely attributed to armed herdsmen.

A similar attack in December 2022 killed over 46 people in Sokwong and Mallagum communities in the neighbouring Kaura Local Government Area.