Three people were reported killed and many others were injured on Tuesday night after hoodlums attacked a community called Samarun Kataf, in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State, residents say.
Consequently, the Kaduna State Government immediately announced a 24-hour curfew in the local government based on security reports.
Making the announcement, Samuel Aruwan, spokesman to the state Governor,Nasir El-Rufai, said that “the restoration of the curfew follows renewed security threats in Samaru-Kataf where the market was attacked by hoodlums.”
“Security forces have taken steps to restore calm and vigorously enforce the curfew,” he said.
Danjuma Samaru who resides in the area told journalists that the attack occurred around 9:30 p.m. at a relaxation joint near the community market.
“We heard the sporadic shooting by unknown gunmen last night around 9:30 pm at a relaxation joint in Samarun Kataf town. Three people were killed,” Samaru said.
“The bodies and those injured have been taken to General Hospital, Zangon Kataf. I am going there now to visit some relations, he added.
Also confirming the attack, the Secretary of the Red Cross in Kaduna State, Shehu Abdul, said he “received alert that something like that occurred.”
Abdul said that “Some people were actually killed and injured,” adding however that he could not “confirm the figure until the team dispatched return from the scene.”
Aliyu Usman, the Kaduna Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, also confirmed the incident but did not speak on the casualty.Southern Kaduna has been in the news in recent times for all the wrong reasons.
The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, had alleged that almost one thousand Christians had been killed in the attacks.
And in contrast, The Council of Imams and Ulamas, Kaduna State Chapter,called on the federal government to arrest some prominent Christian leaders in Southern Kaduna, for allegedly inciting violence.
The State Governor, El-Rufai has also been criticized for not doing enough to curb the crisis, while President Muhammadu Buhari has also been knocked for not speaking out more forcefully against the situation.