No fewer than seven worshippers have been confirmed dead following an attack on a mosque by bandits at Saya-Saya village in Ikara Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The Kaduna State Police Deputy Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansir Hassan, who confirmed the incident on Saturday, disclosed that the worshippers were killed while performing prayers in the mosque at about 8 p.m. on Friday, September 1, 2023.

Hassan said: “At about 8:00 p.m. on Friday, we received information from Saya-Saya village that six persons were killed while performing last prayer of the day (Ishai) in a Mosque.

“The bandits, about nine of them on motorcycles, arrived and attacked the people in the mosque.

“At the spot, they shot six persons while praying in a mosque in the village.”

Hassan said the bandits also moved to another mosque at Tashar Dauda, also in Ikara Local Government Area of Kaduna State, and killed one person while three sustained bullet injuries.

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He said the bandits took away four motorcycles.

The police spokesman added: “On getting the information, the Divisional Police Officer of Ikara promptly mobilised security operatives to the scenes.

“By the time our men got there, the bandits had escaped into the bush before the arrival of security operatives.

“So far, no arrest has been made at the scenes of the incident but five empty shells of AK49 rifle were recovered.”

Hassan stated that the seven corpses had been handed over to their relatives.

Of the three injured persons, he said two were moved to General Hospital Tudun-Wada, Kano State, while one is in General Hospital Ikara.

Hassan, who said police had intensified efforts to arrest the suspects and make them face the law, quoted the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Musa Garba, as appealing to citizens to always report any unusual and suspicious activity to the nearest security authorities for proactive measure.

The Star