People of Ugama village in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State are in fear after some individuals, suspected to be cattle rustlers, launched an attack that included ritual killings and property theft on Thursday.
Reports indicate that the attackers are Fulani from Ugama village. Eyewitnesses have confirmed that at least 20 people were killed and many others were injured.
Malam Yusufa Ugama, a resident who narrowly escaped the attack, claimed that after the ritual killings, some of the attackers attacked the village and set it on fire. He also mentioned that the town's livestock was stolen.
The motive for the attack is still unclear, but Yusufa explained: “We saw people armed with guns, machetes and knives, and they called themselves rustlers.”
A source also revealed that there had been a dispute between the villagers and their chief, whose name was not revealed, over the sale of the village's farmland.
The Kaduna State Police Command Public Relations Officer, DSP Mansur Hassan, confirmed the incident to TST Hausa but stated that the police were yet to receive any formal complaint from the villagers or any group about the attack or the accused of the murders.