Sixteen out of the 21 people killed in Kaduna state on Wednesday were from the same family, multiple media sources said.
Some of the victims were locked up and burnt in their house by the armed bandit who invaded their village.
A number of other people were shot dead when dozens of the unknown gunmen arrived in their village. Vehicles and other property were set ablaze.
The attack came barely three days after suspected Boko Haram insurgents invaded Auno Village in Borno State, killing 10 people and destroying 18 vehicles.
“The bandits stormed our village on several motorbikes, brandishing AK47 riffle,” a community leader and head of the family, Malam Sani Bakali said.
“Immediately they came, they started moving around the village, shooting sporadically. In the process, they came to our house and set it ablaze.”
Kidnapping gangs, bandits and a faction of the Islamist group, Boko Haram – known as Ansaru – are active in the area
“Right now, people have fled the village,” Bakali said.
“I am the only one left because I have come to pick something.”
Bakali said apart from those killed, there are nine people still missing since the incident.
“As it is now, we don’t know whether they have been killed or not,” Bakali said.
The Kaduna State Police Command Public Relations Officer, ASP Muhammad Jalige, also confirmed the attack.
“There was an attack in Giwa, Bakali village to be precise, and we have sent a team of police officers and men there to ascertain the situation of things,” Jalige said.
