37 people die in communal clash

37 people were killed in the Kajuru Local Government Area in Southern Kaduna after violence broke out in the region on Sunday, July 16, 2017.

According to reports, the violence was due to a communal clash that broke out between Kadara youths and youths from a Fulani community in the region.

Kadara youths had reportedly been involved in the lynching of a Fulani man on July 11.

The Kadara community had claimed that the Fulani man killed in the community was a known criminal who had been terrorising residents in the area.

In the early hours of Sunday, a group of Fulani youths reigned terror on a village at Ugwan Uka as vengeance for the killing of their kinsman.

Five of the youths identified as part of the mob that killed the Fulani man were some of the casualties of the attack.

A reprisal attack staged by youths from the Kadara community resulted in more deaths as they attacked Fulani settlements, also destroying properties in the process.

The reprisal attacks between the two communities resulted in the death of 37 people in total, including a seven-month-old baby, while many others sustained varying degrees of injuries.

While confirming the death of 37 people, the Kaduna state Commissioner of Police, Agyole Abeh, condemned the attacks.

He said, "I wish to reiterate here that this form of unprovoked attack is not just callous but barbaric. It must be condemned by well-meaning citizens of the state because as that part of the state is beginning to enjoy relative peace and calm, such peace has been dislocated and we're doing everything possible to ensure that it does not escalate.

"I wish to assure you that the police will not relent on its effort to ensure that those responsible for this callous act are made to face the full wrath of the law."