Bandits have reportedly killed seven worshippers in a Mosque at Saya-Saya village, in Ikara Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
According to a local source, the incident is said to have happened around 8 p.m. on Friday, 1 September, when the villagers were performing Isha’i (Sunset) prayers at a local mosque.
The source said five of the victims were killed in the mosque, while the other two victims were killed at different locations within the area.
Two other villagers, according to the source, sustained gunshot wounds and were rushed to the hospital for treatment.
Malam Abdulrahman Yusuf, the village head of the area, confirmed the incident, saying that the head of the vigilante in the village was among the victims killed inside the mosque.
“We suspected they traced him (vigilante boss) to the mosque to attack him. We were inside the mosque praying when they arrived and started shooting. Five persons were killed at the mosque, while a driver who brought food items to the village was also killed. The other person was killed at a nearby village”, Malam Yusuf said.
He said security agencies comprising soldiers and police from Ikara town and Palgore area arrived at the scene around 12:30 a.m., saying that by the time the security agents came, the bandits had already left the village.
Meanwhile, the State Command’s Acting Public Relations Officer, Mansir Alhassan, who confirmed the incident, said security personnel had been mobilised to nearby bushes to fish out the perpetrators and ensure normalcy in the area.
