Gunmen invade Mosque in Kaduna, kill seven worshippers

Gunmen suspected to be bandits on Friday evening, attacked a Mosque at the Saya-Saya village in Ikara Local Government Area of Kaduna State, killing seven worshippers and injuring an unspecified number of others.

Acting Police Public Relations Officer in the State Command, Mansir Alhassan, who confirmed the incident in a statement on Saturday, said the gunmen attacked the Mosque around 8pm when the faithful were “performing the Isha’i (Sunset) prayers at a local Mosque.”

Alhassan added that security personnel composed of police and military personnel have been mobilised to the community and nearby bushes to fish out the perpetrators.

“The police and other security agencies including the military were not informed of the attack until after the attackers left the area. We urge members of the public to always report suspicious movement within their communities to nearby security agencies at the right time,” the police spokesman said.

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A resident of the area who identified himself as Dan Asabe, told journalists that five of the victims were gunned down inside the Mosque while the two other victims were killed at different locations within the area.

The village head of the community, Malam Abdulrahaman Yusuf, who also confirmed the incident, said the head of the vigilante in the village was among the victims killed inside the Mosque.

“We suspected they traced the vigilante boss to the Mosque to attack him. We were inside the Mosque praying when they arrived and started shooting. Five persons were killed at the Mosque, while a driver who brought food items to the village was also killed. The other person was killed at a nearby village.

“It was after the bandits had fled that security agencies, including soldiers and police from Ikara town and Palgore area arrived at the scene around 12:30am, but by then, the bandits had already left the village.

“One of the victims with gunshot wounds was taken to Aminu Kano Hospital for treatment, while many of our people have fled for safety,” Yusuf said.