Gunmen attack central Nigeria village, 24 killed

USPA News - At least 24 people were killed Sunday when a group of gunmen stormed a village in central Nigeria, officials said on Monday. The incident occurred early Sunday morning at around 5:30 a.m. local time in the village of Dongo Dawa in the Gwari Local Government Area, which is in the state of Kaduna, when the gunmen, reportedly disguised in police uniforms, stormed the village.

Kaduna Police chief Olufemi Adenaike confirmed the death toll which stood at 24, while a local resident said the gunmen attacked a mosque just before sunrise, according to the Nation newspaper. As the Police Mobile Force was deployed to the area, sealing off all the exits in order to search for the attackers, the local vigilance group in the area said four suspected gunmen were detained in the village of Kuyello. The motive of the attack remains uncertain, but one army officer said it was a case of robbery. However, media reports also said the case could have been an act of revenge after locals had recently expelled a group of gunmen that had been operating in the village. With a high number of robberies and sexual assaults against women, locals set up a vigilante group in the area, identifying assailants and expelling them one by one. A local leader said the attackers apparently regrouped and stormed the village, including the man suspected of identifying them. He was killed along with two of his children while his wife`s hands were cut off.