24-hour curfew imposed on parts of LGA in southern Kaduna as ‘gunmen kill 17’

Gunmen have killed at least 17 people in Zangon Kataf LGA of Kaduna state.

The attack is said to have been perpetrated by many gunmen who stormed parts of the LGA at about 7:00 pm on Saturday.

A resident in the LGA said 17 corpses have been recovered in the wake of the attack.

Zangon Kataf is one of the LGAs in the southern part of Kaduna that has witnessed killings over the years due to a complex number of problems including farmer-herder conflicts.

“The gunmen in their large numbers came at about 7:00 pm yesterday (Saturday),” the resident said via telephone on Sunday.

“As I am talking to you, we have so far recovered 17 corpses.”

Jonathan Asake, the gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party (LP), hails from the LGA.

Following the attack, the Zangon Kataf local administration council imposed a 24-hour curfew.

Yabo Ephraim, the media aide to the LGA chairman, said the curfew would enable the army to restore peace and order in the affected areas.

“A 24-hour curfew has been imposed on Ungwan Juju, Mabuhu, Ungwan Wakili and Zangon Urban with immediate effect,” Ephraim said in a terse statement.

“This is to allow men of the Nigerian army to restore peace on that axis.”

The police in Kaduna are yet to comment on the incident.