the crisis rocking the southern part of Kaduna took another dimension recently as hunters became the latest victims.
File photo: Hunters in Borno State
A report by SaharaReporters has shown that nine hunters of Kano State origin have been killed and four corpses missing in renewed violence this week in the troubled Southern Kaduna region of Kaduna State.
According to the report, the victims perished in fresh fighting that erupted from Monday to Thursday this week.
A top Kano State Government official confirmed the developments to SaharaReporters via telephone.
According to the source, the Hausa-Fulani hunters were returning from a hunting expedition in Nasarawa State when they ran into a roadblock erected at Kagoro in Kaduna State by some indigenous youths from Southern Kaduna.
The hunters hailed from Rano, Kibiya and Wada local government areas of Kano State.
The source disclosed that there were more than 20 hunters in the party, adding that the indigenous vigilante youths killed eight of the hunters before soldiers got to the scene. The military recovered four corpses while four are yet to be recovered.
"The soldiers, after rescuing 13 of the hunters on Monday, took them to a police facility in Kafanchan, but unfortunately when they were returning to Kano on Thursday, they were ambushed again by Southern Kaduna youths and one more was killed," said the source.
The source added, “The security screened them and indeed confirmed that they were hunters on transit back to Kano from Nasarawa. To this moment, there is no single word from the security agencies and Kaduna State Government.”
The source named the hunters slain on Monday as Muhammadu Kibiya, Naaloma Rano, Ado Rano, and Ado Kafi. The names of the corpses missing were given as Alhaji Mukhtari, Rabiu Kibiya, Biyu Kibiya and Baba Kibiya.
The man killed on Thursday was identified as Ambo Nakuda.
All attempts to reach Samuel Aruwan, Governor Nasir El-Rufai's media aide, were unsuccessful as he was said to be attending a security meeting.