Bandits on Saturday in Kagi village, Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, prevented mourners and sympathetisers from burying
two people who were killed by the hoodlums in an attack on Friday.
The bandits were said to have attacked Kagi and Kugu villages at about 6:00pm on Friday, killing two people and injuring two others.
They were also said to have carted away cows and grains belonging to the villagers.
However, at about 8:40 am on Saturday, when members of the community, accompanied by the police, went to burry the dead, the bandits opened fire on them and chased them from the burial ground.
In a statement in Kaduna, the Birnin Gwari Vanguard for Security and Good Governance,
said the gunmen were shooting indiscriminately and the people, including the police, took to their heels and returned to Birnin-Gwari town for safety.
According to the statement, “armed bandits chased away mourners from a grave yard this morning in Kagi village, about three kilometres from Government Science Secondary School Birnin-Gwari in Kaduna state.…
“The incident occurred, around 8.40 am (on Saturday) when relatives and volunteers as well as a handful of policemen went to Kagi for the burial of the two victims of armed bandits‘ attack in the village that were on procession to the grave after the funeral prayers.
“The gunmen fired shot indiscriminately and the people as well as the police took to their heels and returned to Birnin-Gwari town for safety.”
The statement explained that by 12 noon, about 300 vigilante groups and some police men were mobilised and went back to the village for the burial.
“Although during the attack on Friday, the army went to the location, but returned to base, thinking the armed bandits had left, only to resurface this morning to take away remnant of cattles that returned to the village,” the group said.
The group expressed concern that with the attacks on communities close to Birnin-Gwari town, the possibility of the bandits invading the Local Government headquarters was imminent.
The statement called on the federal and state governments to deploy more security personnel to Birnin Gwari area to protect lives and property and to flush out bandits.
Yakubu Sabo, spokesman of the Kaduna State police command, could not be reached to confirm the incident as he did not respond to telephone calls.
