Gunmen Kill 16 Villagers in Nasarawa

About 16 persons are feared killed by gunmen in Kuduku community in Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa State in the early hours of yesterday.

The gunmen, who were said to be heavily armed with sophisticated weapons, invaded the community at about 11am and shot indiscriminately.

LEADERSHIP learnt that apart from the number of casualties recorded in the incident, several houses and other valuable materials worth millions of naira belonging to the residents of the local communities of Kuduku, Obasidoma and environs were also destroyed in the raid.

Although what prompted the attack could not be immediately ascertained, our correspondent was told that the incident might not be unconnected with alleged attack on some Fulani herdsmen by unknown persons in Kuduku community.

It was further gathered that some herdsmen, numbering about seven, had, in trying to relocate with their cows, allegedly occupied the road linking Kuduku and Giza communities, a development that did not go down well with a motorcyclist who, according to reports, told the herdsmen to guide their cows to one side of the road to allow him to pass.

Trouble, however, ensued when the herdsmen allegedly refused to heed he request and he was said to have pushed one of the cows aside to pass.

In the ensuing fracas, one of the herdsmen assaulted the motorcycle rider leaving him injured with machete cuts.

Aggrieved by the development, some angry youths from Kuduku community were said to have quickly mobilised in search of the herdsmen who were said to have taken to their heels, an encounter that was said to have led to the death of about five of the herdsmen.