In the early hours of Tuesday, October 24, bandits raided a mosque in the Ga Allah Babba hamlet, close to Sabon Layi in the Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna state, killing an Islamic cleric and two other people.

According to reports, the bandits attacked the mosques while observing their morning prayers.

The bandits were said to be returning from Zamfara State through the Kamuku forest near Kuriga village when they saw Muslim faithful observing morning prayer. The gunmen immediately closed the mosque and opened fire on the worshippers, killing the chief imam and two others.

“The attack took place at Ga Allah Babba of Sabon Layi, an agrarian community in the western part of Birnin-Gwari. These are areas neighbouring the Kamuku National Park and the Kuyebana forest in Zamfara and Niger States.

The imam of a mosque and two other worshippers were killed. It occurred around 5am on Tuesday. Two other worshippers who sustained life-threatening injuries are at the Jibrin Maigwari General Hospital, Birnin-Gwari.

Bandits attack Birnin-Gwari communities almost daily, killing and abducting residents, especially farmers. The situation is more worrisome on the Birnin-Gwari-Kaduna highway and has become a nightmare for travellers and other road users” a community leader, Zubair Abdurrauf, said