In a series of unprecedented attacks, some suspected militias have murdered three persons and burnt down two other villages in the Bassa Local Government Area of Kogi State thereby throwing their indigenes into a state of turmoil.
Africa Daily News, New York gathered that the incident, which happened on Thursday night, saw eight houses burnt down in Mozum, headquarters of Egbura Mozum kingdom, while two villages, Baze and Anki in Kogi State were completely razed.
Two of the deceased, it was gathered, were male, while the other is a female.
The Secretary, Mozum Traditional Council, Ahmedu Abubakar, confirmed the incident on Saturday.
He alleged that the suspected militias are Bassa Kwomu, who were hired from the Agatu area of Benue State to attack their kingdom in Kogi State.
“They came and attacked Mozum, the headquarter of Egbura Mozum kingdom. They burnt down eight houses. This Bassa Kwomu Militias extended the attack to two Egbura communities namely Baze and Anki. They burnt down the whole villages and killed two men and a woman. As I speak to you, the villages are empty. The Divisional Police Officer in Bassa and soldiers detachment in Oguma have all come here to see things for themselves. No arrest has been made,” he said.
Efforts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer, SP William Ovye Aya, about the incident proved abortive at the time of filing this report
In another report, some militants have killed 32 people in four villages located in the Kajuru part of Nigeria’s northwest state of Kaduna. The attack came on the same day as the St. Francis Catholic Church massacre in Nigeria’s southwest state of Ondo, which killed over 30 people.
The Nigerian National Security Council announced Thursday that the attack was carried out by members of the militant group, Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP). This announcement confirmed reports that the militants are seeking to expand their influence from the northeast region of Nigeria to more parts of the country.
The Adara Development Association reported that 32 bodies had been recovered from the attack and that 28 villagers have been buried.
Usman Danladi, a resident, described the attack, reporting that the militants rode in on over 100 motorcycles. He stated that many villagers “took to their hills and ran into the bush [but the attackers] followed them with motorcycles and killed them.” Danladi added, “Twenty-eight people have been buried as of yesterday and we cannot say if they are all because many of the dead bodies are being picked from the bush.” He also stated that the attackers kidnapped more than 20 people and demanded a ransom for their release.
Danladi confirmed that the attackers were “armed Fulani militia. This is the language they were speaking…They are not new to our environment because this is not the first time that they were attacking.”
Awemi Dio Maisamari, the Adara association national president, described one of the village attacks, saying that the villagers were able to fend off the attackers before a helicopter came and “starting gunning the youths from the air.”
The attacks have not yet been confirmed by the police or Kaduna state officials.