IT was a bloody Easter eve for residents of Asso village in Jema’a Local Government Area in southern part of Kaduna State, as 13 persons were reportedly killed by gunmen.
The Nation gathered the renewed killing occurred on Saturday night, when gunmen stormed the village, shooting sporadically.
A witness told The Nation the incident occurred about 7p.m. on Saturday, after a peace and reconciliation meeting between locals and Fulani people.
He said the 12 persons died of bullet wounds when the attackers stormed the village and opened fire on innocent residents preparing for the Easter celebration.
The source said the attackers were heavily armed, adding that the operation lasted for about 30 minutes without any help from security agencies deployed in the area.
He added that three people were injured and were rushed to the Kafanchan General Hospital for treatment.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai condemned the attack, describing it as inhuman and callous.
The governor, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Samuel Aruwan, condoled with the victims’ families, while affirming that security operations are being ramped to rid the forest areas of the bandits.
He said a new security measure called Operation Harbin Kunama (II), would soon be launched to help the Army deal with persons responsible for the attacks.
He, however, urged security agencies to double their efforts in fishing out those behind the killings and to act promptly on carefully vetted intelligence.
El-Rufai also appealed for support of the communities to assist the security agencies with intelligence report to help nab the killers.