Three people have been reportedly killed while seven others, including two nursing mothers, were abducted when bandits stormed Unguwar Dan-Baki, and Sabon-Layi villages in Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Sunday.

One of the nursing mothers was said to have been abducted alongside her eight-day-old baby.

Ibrahim Abubakar Nagwari, Chairman of the Birnin-Gwari Vanguards for Security and Good Governance, in a statement on Monday, said the incident occurred at about 7:00 pm.

The statement said the gunmen had a field day as they carted away cattle used for traction by the villagers in their farms.

The statement quoted an eyewitness, Garba Tanko, as saying that the attack took place during the “Maghreb” (evening) prayers.

According to the statement, “The attackers had a field day and carted away the cattle used for animal traction by the villagers in their farms.

“The attackers are using a corridor of Kamuku Forest and Kuyambana Forest in Zamfara State to terrorise farming communities in Birnin-Gwari Local Government territories.”

The statement called on the federal government to deploy more security personnel to stop the influx of bandits who are being chased from Zamfara State by the military to the Birnin Gwari area.

“As the military and police personnel are advancing to secure many parts of our territories from bandits and kidnappers especially along Birnin-Gwari-Kaduna road as well as Birnin-Gwari-Funtua road, we are calling on the federal government to deploy more security forces to Birnin-Gwari to prevent influx of bandits escaping military onslaught in Zamfara State to Birnin-Gwari” the group said.

The spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command Mukhtar Aliyu could not be reached to react on the incident as his mobile telephone was not connecting.

•Culled from a THISDAY report