Gunmen Kill 5 Siblings, 25 Others in Midnight Attack on Kaduna Community

Gunmen Kill 5 Siblings, 25 Others in Midnight Attack on Kaduna Community

At least 30 people, including five siblings from the same family, were killed when armed gunmen invaded Naridon community in Kamaru Chawai Ward of Kauru Local Government Area, Kaduna State, in a brutal attack that has drawn widespread condemnation from Amnesty International, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and civil society groups.

The attack, which occurred around 12:35 a.m. on Monday, July 27, 2026, saw heavily armed assailants storm the community with sophisticated weapons, shooting sporadically and setting homes and shops ablaze. Security personnel arrived hours after the attackers had fled the scene, leaving residents to bury their dead.

The five siblings from the Emmanuel family were identified as Deborah Emmanuel, Friday Emmanuel, Yusuf Emmanuel, Yunana Emmanuel and Irimiya Emmanuel. Their parents escaped the attack and later returned to the community to discover the devastating loss of all five of their children. A former youth leader in the area, Comrade Friday Ango, who confirmed the incident, said: “From the report I received, 24 people have been confirmed dead. The number could rise later, but for now, the confirmed death toll is 24. One Emmanuel in the community lost five children in the incident. Only he and his wife escaped.”

Gunmen Kill 5 Siblings, 25 Others in Midnight Attack on Kaduna Community

Amnesty International, which strongly condemned the attack, described it as “perhaps one of the deadliest attacks on southern Kaduna villages.” The organisation said it obtained images showing “entire families locked up and slaughtered inside their bedrooms. Children had their throats slit and their heads left with massive cuts. There was blood on beds, in kitchens and on the trails of those bleeding while trying to escape.” Community leader Yunusa Babados recounted a chilling account of the brutality: “In one family, they killed six children and told the parents: ‘We will spare you and kill all your children’.” Sources confirmed that the victims included women, children and elderly residents. The attack lasted approximately three hours, with the gunmen moving from house to house. Resident Barnabas Musa told AFP the community gathered at least 30 dead bodies, including women and children. Rubean James, another resident, said his family managed to escape through a back door into the bush and later confirmed that 31 people had been killed.

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There is disagreement among local leaders about the cause of the attack. Ango rejected reports attributing it to farmer-herder clashes, insisting that the people of Naridon were attacked without provocation. According to him, communities in Kauru LGA had suffered similar attacks for years and deserved better protection from security agencies. However, former Chairman of Kauru LGA, Musa Waziri, cautioned against immediate conclusions. He noted that Naridon is a border community with Plateau State, an area that has experienced recurring communal tensions. “When there is a clash between farmers and herders on the Plateau side, it sometimes affects our communities as well, leading to retaliatory attacks here,” he said.

Governor Uba Sani condemned the killings and directed the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (KADSEMA) to provide immediate relief and humanitarian support to affected families. The government also reaffirmed its commitment to working with Plateau State Government, security agencies and traditional institutions to strengthen security cooperation along the border. The Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) condemned the attack and called on the Kaduna State Police Command to urgently tackle what it described as worsening insecurity across Southern Kaduna. The union called for the deployment of Mobile Police and counter-terrorism units to vulnerable communities and intensified intelligence-led operations. Amnesty International blamed the continued violence on what it described as the failure of authorities to protect vulnerable communities and prosecute those responsible. “The spate of these killings is evidence of the failure of authorities to protect the people. The inability of authorities to bring attackers to justice is fueling impunity,” the organisation stated. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar described the killings as unacceptable, noting that “every life lost is a painful indictment of a government that has repeatedly promised security but continues to preside over an expanding landscape of bloodshed.”

The attack came barely two weeks after 19 Northern States Governors launched the Northern Nigeria Security Trust Fund (NNSTF) and pledged a monthly contribution of N1 billion to strengthen regional security coordination. The Naridon community had reportedly suffered a similar attack around the same time last year. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.