No fewer than 38 persons, including children and women, have been reportedly killed by yet-to-be-identified gunmen in Takalafiya, Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

A local who recalled the horrors of the attack said trouble began two weeks ago when a farmer in Gwanja, a community close to Takalafiya, challenged a herder who allowed his cattle to eat the newly planted crops.

“As the farmer was talking to the herder to send his herds out of his farm, a fierce disagreement ensued.

“We heard that the herder brought out a cutlass but the farmer snatched the cutlass and fought him back and unfortunately the herder died instantly,” the local said.

Our correspondent learnt that the authority of Karu Local Government Area intervened and the matter was settled.

But on Thursday, gunmen launched an attack on Gwanja and killed four persons.

“When the gunmen discovered that some residents of Gwanja community fled to Takalafiya, they launched an attack on the community on Friday and killed people.

“In the early hours of Friday, at exactly 4am the people of the the community were panicking when they discovered a very strange dog roaming the streets of Takalafiya, with huge charms around its neck, they mobilised and killed the dog.

“After they succeeded in killing the dog, as they clustered around it wondering where it came from, the herdsmen started shooting guns sporadically into the air around the community and that was how many residents were killed,” another local told our correspondent.

Our correspondent gathered that on Friday seven bodies brought in from Takalafiya and other communities were deposited at the mortuary of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Keffi, with many locals still missing.

Our correspondent reports that on Saturday a mass burial was held for 38 persons, including women and children, killed by the gunmen in the two communities.

Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, Emmanuel Akabe, who led a government delegation to the mass burial, condemned the wanton killings and destruction of property.

Akabe who expressed dismay over the killings, vowed that government would unravel the perpetrators and prosecute them to serve as a deterrent.

He assured that the state government would provide relief materials to those displaced, and urged the affected communities to give credible information to the relevant authorities.

Our correspondent further reports that the neighbouring communities, including Gwanja, Angwan Bege, Angwan Madaki and Gidan Allah, occupied predominantly by Gwandara, Mada and Yeskwa tribes, were also attacked by the gunmen.

Meanwhile, Nasarawa State Police Command said it has recovered no fewer than 14 bodies.

The PPRO, Rahman Nansel, disclosed this in a statement in Lafia.

Daily Trust