▪ Survivors recount horror as bandits block escape routes, set houses ablaze ▪ Several abducted, 13 injured in critical condition ▪ Victims include five married men and children of a respected community leader
A wave of terror once again swept through Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Thursday evening as armed bandits unleashed a coordinated and deadly assault on Layin Danauta village, leaving at least nine residents dead, including three underage girls.
Sources from the area described the attack as gruesome and well-planned, with the assailants arriving in large numbers, encircling the community, and blocking all entry and escape routes before opening fire on innocent villagers.
A local source who spoke to SaharaReporters said the three young girls were all children of Alhaji Salisu Maiwada, a respected figure in the community. The attack also claimed the lives of five married men and a young bachelor, bringing the total fatalities to nine.
> “They came around 6:30 p.m., firing from all directions. People were trapped — men, women, and children. By the time they left, the entire village was covered in blood,” said one distraught resident.
Another eyewitness revealed that about 13 villagers sustained gunshot wounds, many of whom are in critical condition and receiving treatment in nearby medical facilities. The attackers reportedly kidnapped several residents, whisking them away into the forest.
The carnage left behind was so devastating that search and rescue operations had to be postponed until Friday morning due to the danger of returning to the scene in darkness.
As of Friday morning, grieving relatives and community members gathered to prepare the recovered bodies for burial, expected to take place before or after the Jumu’ah (Friday) prayers.
This latest incident underscores the worsening insecurity in Kaduna’s Birnin Gwari axis — a region that has become a hotbed of banditry, kidnappings, and deadly raids despite repeated military operations and government assurances.
Residents are once again appealing to both the Kaduna State Government and the Federal authorities to take decisive action, describing the ongoing bloodshed as “an unbearable nightmare that must end.”
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