The tales were chilling: a mother fleeing watched her two years old daughter washed away in River Kaduna as they fled bandits having a field day mowing down the natives and burning houses in the midst of a 24-hour curfew in Zango Kataf.
The number of the dead, according to the spokesman of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), Mr. Luka Binniyat, has risen from the initial 22 to 30 from last weekend’s attack.
He added that most Atyap men have opted to remain in the communities to protect their ancestral land, which they said that bandits of alleged Fulani descent are after.
Binniyat said the Internally Displaced Persons camps are filled mostly with women who told stories of how they recognised some of their attackers as former neighbours who boasted they would flush them out.
Recall that Chibob village was attecked on Friday night, and nine persons were killed others seriously injured, and many houses were also burnt.
There were similar attacks in Sabon Kaura village where 15 people were also murdered in the night while the third attack at Ungwan Audu village on Sunday night also left several houses and farmlands burnt with many injured.
Binniyat said not less than 60 were injured and are receiving treatment in hospitals.
But in Abuja, the Senator representing Kaduna South Senatorial District, Danjuma La’ah was telling the tale of his people’s suffering in the hands of bandits, and calling for the federal government to step up action against the bandits.
On the floor of the Senate, Tuesday La’ah said: “I wish to bring a request before this Senate, that there is incessant killings in Kaduna South, which I’m seeking the help of the Senate to send military men and police to help us overcome the situation in southern Kaduna.
“It has become a very serious matter that many people are being killed. The situation is very embarrassing and I’m pleading with the National Assembly to request the Federal Government to send the Police and armed men to protect the lives of my people and their property.
“It is unbecoming, as this situation has been on for many years and it has got to this point even though I’ve been complaining.
“The situation as at the other times was calmed down, but it has started again, and I pray the National Assembly will help to provide military men to help the situation”.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, in his response, expressed the willingness of the National Assembly to engage security agencies with a view to up-scaling operations around areas prone to attacks in Kaduna South.
“I will suggest that we talk to the security agencies to upscale their activities around those hot spots in Kaduna, and this is something that we owe the Nigerian people,” Lawan said