15:T7ab,

Kaduna State Governor, Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, on Saturday abandoned a scheduled official assignment in the United States and returned to the country over the deadly attacks on communities in Kaura Local Government Area of the state.

The governor departed Nigeria on Friday and was already in the United Kingdom enroute the United States to attend a symposium on peace and security in Northern Nigeria organised by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP).

Yero was billed to address the conference on the security challenges in the North and Kaduna State in particular, but had to make a u-turn back to Nigeria on receiving the sad news that some hoodlums had attacked villages in Kaduna and killed over 100 innocent citizens.

Organisers of the symposium had announced that it would have in attendance of governors from northern Nigerian states that are facing security and economic challenges as well as lawmakers and investors from the US and Europe. USIP said the aim of the event is to seek collaborative solutions to improving security as well as economic development of the North.

Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has carried out an assessment of the communities affected and victims with a view to commencing the process of providing relief to victims of the attacks, who are presently displaced from their homes.

In the meantime, the Kaduna State Government has called on people in the state to remain calm and to shun rumors capable of escalating tension in the state. Governor Yero’s spokesman, Ahmed Maiyaki, in a chat with journalists in Kaduna, assured that the administration had taken adequate measures to safeguard the lives and property of the entire state. Maiyaki urged citizens to go about their lawful businesses as security agencies are already at alert to maintain law and order in all parts of the state.

•Photo shows Governor Yero.

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