Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Three residents are dead, several others have been abducted, and a farming community has been thrown into mourning after armed bandits launched coordinated raids on two villages in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State over the weekend. The attacks, which occurred between Saturday night, 23 May 2026, and the early hours of Sunday, 24 May 2026, targeted the settlements of Kurmin Gwaza and Sabon Gari Gantan in the troubled southern sector of the state. According to multiple eyewitness accounts gathered by community leaders, the gunmen stormed the villages on motorcycles, firing indiscriminately on residents and forcing many to flee into the surrounding bushes. In Kurmin Gwaza, two residents were shot dead on the spot, while more than seven others were forcibly taken to an unknown destination. Several victims also sustained gunshot injuries and are currently receiving treatment at nearby medical facilities. A similar assault was recorded in Sabon Gari Gantan, where one person was killed and a number of other villagers sustained varying degrees of injuries, with some said to be in critical condition. Residents described the attacks as sudden and brutal, noting that the assailants operated for a prolonged period without any immediate resistance.
The incidents have sent shockwaves through the affected communities and heightened long‑standing fears over the deteriorating security situation in Southern Kaduna, a region that has witnessed repeated cycles of violent attacks, mass abductions, and displacement. Kachia Local Government Area, where the two targeted villages are located, has seen a troubling increase in bandit activity in recent months. Community leaders have expressed frustration that despite repeated appeals to security agencies, the response has been slow and inadequate. “We are living in constant fear. These attacks have become too frequent, and we no longer know when the next one will come,” a resident of Kurmin Gwaza, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, told Stone Reporters News. “Our young men are being killed, our wives and children are being taken, and our farms have been abandoned. We need help urgently.”
As of the time of this report, efforts are still ongoing to determine the exact number and identities of those abducted. Family members of the missing have gathered in the affected communities, anxiously awaiting any news of their loved ones. Some residents have accused both the state and local governments of downplaying or suppressing reports of recurring violence in the region, further deepening concerns over transparency and the effectiveness of the government’s response to the insecurity. In a statement attributed to a community leader, Bernard Raphael, the attacks were described as part of a pattern of escalating violence targeting the Kachia axis. “These gunmen have turned our villages into a theatre of horror,” Raphael said. “We call on the Kaduna State Government and the security agencies to act with urgency before more lives are lost.”
The weekend attacks are not isolated incidents. In recent months, Kachia LGA has recorded a series of deadly raids and abductions that have displaced hundreds of families and disrupted farming activities in the agrarian district. Data compiled by local civil society groups indicate that no fewer than 25 people have been abducted from the same local government area within the past three months alone, while several communities have been forced to pay illegal levies to bandits in exchange for temporary safety. The Southern Kaduna region, which includes Kachia, has been particularly hard hit by a wave of banditry that has spread from the North‑West states into Kaduna’s rural hinterlands. The Kaduna State Government has repeatedly assured residents of improved security, but the pace of attacks has not abated, and many communities feel abandoned.
The Nigeria Police Force has yet to issue an official statement on the weekend attacks, and it is unclear whether any arrests have been made. The Kaduna State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer could not be reached for comment at the time of filing this report. Similarly, the military’s Operation Whirl Punch, which has been conducting clearance operations in the North‑West and North‑Central zones, did not immediately comment on the incident. However, security sources familiar with the operations in Kachia said that troops have been deployed to the area and are working to track the movement of the assailants, though the dense forest cover and the bandits’ superior knowledge of the terrain have complicated rescue efforts.
Residents have called for increased security deployment in the area, including the establishment of a permanent military presence to deter future attacks. Some have also appealed to the Kaduna State Government to expedite the ongoing implementation of community policing initiatives, which they believe could help provide early warning and rapid response to such incidents. Meanwhile, the injured victims are said to be in stable condition, though some remain hospitalised with serious gunshot wounds. Community leaders have urged the state government to cover their medical bills and provide psychological support to the affected families.
As the people of Kurmin Gwaza and Sabon Gari Gantan mourn their dead and anxiously await the return of their abducted relatives, the broader implications of the weekend attacks are already being felt across Southern Kaduna. Many farmers have reportedly abandoned their fields, fearing that the planting season may be disrupted by the escalating violence. This could have serious consequences for food security in a region that already struggles with poverty and malnutrition. For now, the people of Kachia LGA are left to rely on their own resilience, while the government and security agencies struggle to contain a crisis that shows no sign of ending.
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