According to official sources, at least 47 persons were killed in bandit raids in different areas in Nigeria’s North West Kaduna state on Saturday and Sunday.
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the army to respond effectively to the attacks.
On Sunday morning, bandits attacked villages in Kaduna’s Giwa Local Government Area, killing 38 people, and killing nine people in Chikun, Zangon Kataf, Igabi, and Zaria local government areas on Saturday.
On Sunday evening, Mr Samuel Aruwan, the Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, confirmed that terrorists had infiltrated the communities and opened fire on the innocent residents.
He claimed that multiple houses, trucks, and cars had been damaged, as well as produce from other farms that had been burned.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state has expressed his condolences for the attacks and has asked the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency to perform an immediate evaluation of the region in order to provide help to the victims.
Terrorists were given a hard time.
President Buhari said security forces had raised the heat on terrorists “who are getting frustrated and are soft-targeting innocent residents, plundering their assets, destroying their homes, and killing them indiscriminately” in a fast response to the attack.
He reaffirmed his order to security and intelligence leaders to do everything possible to eliminate the terrorists’ last remnants.
On Sunday, the 79-year-old president decried increasing banditry in Kaduna State, calling the latest incident “gruesome, terrible, and intolerable.”
President Buhari also sent the nation’s condolences to the Kaduna State government and prayed for the souls of those who perished.
Brutal clashes
Kaduna state had been engulfed in deadly ethnic and religious warfare for decades, which peaked in the last two years, killing over 5,400 people.
The influx of bandits into the state has exacerbated the security situation, since terrorists are holding people, including children, for ransom.
Nigeria adopted a new salary structure for the Nigeria Police Force on Friday as part of a welfare package to enhance police morale and encourage them to do more in the fight against criminals (NPF).
Salaries were raised by 20% across the board by the president.
Maigari Dingyadi, the Minister of Police Affairs, also announced an increase in allowances.