Sunday Tribune’s findings revealed that the bandits, who attacked the village in Zamfara, had earlier attempted to rustle cows on Friday afternoon, and were resisted by the local vigilante.
However, they regrouped and returned to the village on Friday night to unleash terror on the villagers.
“After the vigilante repelled and killed some of them, the bandits regrouped in the night and returned to the village,” revealed a community leader, who preferred not to be mentioned.
According to him, “So far, we have counted 30 lifeless bodies following the recent attack and we are still searching for more casualties.”
However, when contacted on phone, the police spokesman in the state, Mohammed Shehu, said only 15 people were killed in the attack.
“Our official records showed that 15 people died. In fact, it was the quick response of the police that actually minimised the number of casualties,” he stated.
It will be recalled that in a related incident, a neighbouring village, Bawar Daji, was attacked two months ago and 60 people were killed in two separate attacks.
The number of casualties, it was gathered, since the bandits unleashed terror on the local government area this year, has risen to 130.
In the attack on Kura Falls community in Plateau State, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, ASP Terna Tyopev, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday, in Jos, which he said left three persons dead.
According to him, the attacks occurred on Friday night and Saturday morning.
“We received information at about 7am that residents of Kura Falls were attacked at about 9:30pm and the early hours of Saturday by unknown gunmen. This resulted in the death of three persons identified as Dawala Bullet, aged 30; Fidelis Richard, aged 31; and Iliya Doro, aged 60.
“We have mobilised to the area to ensure normalcy and quell any further attack and breach of the law,” Tyopev said.
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