No fewer than 38 people have been reportedly killed in two separate attacks on villages in Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna State by gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.
This is coming barely 24 hours after President Goodluck Jonathan opened an international conference on security and development challenges of pastoralists in West and Central Africa in Kaduna.
The attackers were said to have invaded Kabamu in Fadan Karshi district and Ankpon in Nandu district both of Numana Chiefdom at about 10 pm on Monday night.
Sanga Local Government Chairman Emmanuel Adamu said 21 were killed in Kabamu village and 17 in Akpon village.
He said the attacks lasted for four hours, appealing to the people to remain calm.
Governor Ramalan Yero assured the people that the government was working to end the attacks on communities.
In a statement by his Director-General, Media and Publicity, Ahmed Maiyaki, Yero said security agents have begun investigating the matter.
He said: “No stone shall be left unturned in our resolve to arrest the perpetrators of these attacks.”
The governor condemned the attack, describing it as a “provocative attempt by some unpatriotic people to cause confusion and unrest” and condoled with families of the victims.
He called on the people in Fadan Karshi and other parts of the state to remain calm as security forces have been deployed in the area.
The governor urged residents to continue to live in peace with one another and to be more vigilant.
Secretary General of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) Adamu Marshal said: “Barely 24 hours after we went to declare open a conference put together by the Presidency to find a lasting solution to these attacks, our villages were attacked.
“We were at the conference talking and discussing how to stop these attacks by herdsmen. It is heart breaking, it is worrisome, but we will not stop appealing to our people to remain calm. At the same time, we will ask the government to find a solution to these attacks.
“When we say 38 people, we are modest because we are still searching for those missing. Many of the people ran into the bush. We cannot find them.”
Convener of the Concerned Realists of Southern Kaduna John Danfulani accused the government of failing to handle security issues in Southern Kaduna.
“The security situation in Southern Kaduna has been given less attention. We are reiterating our stand that Southern Kaduna security crises deserve a state of emergency.

38 killed in attack on Kaduna villages