Bandit attack claims 38 lives in Nigeria’s Kaduna state

At least 38 people have been killed in an attack by suspected bandits in northwestern Nigeria's Kaduna state, an official said late Sunday.

The victims were villagers in the Giwa Local Government Area, Samuel Aruwan, Kaduna state's commissioner for internal security, said in a press statement.

Aruwan said the bandits also burned down homes and set fire to cars, trucks and any agricultural produce they came across.

"Security agencies have confirmed to the Kaduna state government that 38 people were killed across the locations attacked. Twenty-nine of the victims have been identified, with nine remaining unidentified as of the time of this update," he added.

The statement also included the names of the 29 people who have been identified as casualties.

"Security agencies have sustained patrols in the general area," said Aruwan, noting that the area's governor had been informed of the attack.

"Governor Nasir El-Rufai received the reports with sadness and sent condolences to the families of the victims of the brutal attacks while praying for the repose of their souls," he said, adding the governor also expressed his sympathies to the affected communities and directed the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency to conduct an urgent assessment of the area towards providing relief.

Local authorities have been mobilized in the area to provide security and pursue the bandits.

On Dec. 17, at least nine people were killed and two others wounded in separate attacks by bandits in the Chikun, Zaria and Zangon Kataf local government areas of Kaduna state.