Barely two days after killing three students of Greenfield University, have gunmen attacked Haske Baptist Church in Manini Tasha village, Kuriga Ward in Chikun local government area of Kaduna state.
Similarly, some gunmen also killed six people in Bagoma village, Birnin Gwari local government area, and a woman in Amfu village in Kachia local government area, both in the state.
In the church attack during a Sunday service, a medical doctor with the Kaduna state Ministry of Health, Dr. Zakariah Dogo Yaro was shot dead in the process, while four persons were kidnapped.
An eye witness who narrowly escaped the gunmen in the church, Mr. Yakubu Bala, said the heavily armed bandits surrounded the worshippers at exactly 9am.
He said the bandits, who came in large numbers, began shooting sporadically at the worshipers as they scampered for safety.
“Dr. Zakariah Dogo Yaro, a medical doctor with the Kaduna state Ministry of Health was shot dead and unspecified number of people kidnapped, while so many worshipers sustained varying degrees of injuries.
“As I’m talking to you now, we have not seen some of our villagers who ran into the bushes while the shooting was going on. We don’t know what is happening that we are facing this kind of scenario in our peaceful communities.
“Most villagers are already leaving their homes because of the constant attacks in so many villages in Chikun local government,” Yakubu lamented.
On its part, the police command in the state said apart from those killed and injured, the gunmen abducted four worshippers.
The command’s spokesperson, Mr. Mohammed Jalige, in a statement, described the attack as unfortunate.
“Preliminary investigation conducted so far revealed that, four persons are missing which arouse a suspicion that they might have been kidnapped by the hoodlums.
“Two others sustained gunshot wounds, namely; Dr. Zakariya Doga Yaro, a staff of Kaduna State Ministry of Health attached to the Primary Healthcare Center in Rimi village, Udawa, Chikun LGA and Shehu Haruna.
“Unfortunately, Dr. Zakariya Yaro died on the spot while Shehu Haruna is currently receiving medical treatment.
“Consequently, normalcy has since been restored; security has been beefed up in the area with a view to forestalling reoccurrence of the dastardly attack while concerted effort is ongoing to locate the missing persons.
“The Command is deeply saddened by this unprovoked attack on innocent citizens carrying out their legitimate daily routine and commiserate with the affected families,” Jalige stated.