#Nigeria – Residents of Naridon village in Kamaru Ward, Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, buried 27 of the 30 people killed in a deadly overnight attack last week during a mass funeral on August 1, 2026. Three other victims had been laid to rest days earlier.
Armed gunmen invaded the predominantly Christian farming community of about 80 homes shortly before or around midnight on July 26, continuing into the early hours of July 27. Survivors reported that the attackers moved from house to house, opening fire on sleeping residents, setting several homes and shops ablaze, and forcing many to flee into nearby bushes and fields. The assault lasted between one and three hours, according to local accounts.
Community leaders and residents confirmed that approximately 30 people died, including women and children. Reports indicated that eight or more children were among the dead, and one family lost five siblings. Several others were injured, with some in critical condition, and an unspecified number of people were reported missing or displaced. Bodies were initially taken to a nearby mortuary before burial arrangements.
Local sources, including residents and a Catholic priest serving the area, identified the attackers as suspected Fulani militants or members of a Fulani ethnic militia. Some accounts linked the raid to earlier incidents in the vicinity, though no official confirmation of motives was immediately available. Soldiers stationed a few miles from the village reportedly failed to respond during the attack despite calls for help, according to residents and clergy.
On August 1, thousands of mourners gathered for a solemn funeral Mass in Naridon, led by the Catholic Bishop of Kafanchan Diocese, Most Rev. Julius Yakubu Kundi. Coffins were lined up side by side as a deliberate visual reminder of the loss. Pastors and members from various Christian denominations attended in a show of solidarity. Bishop Kundi stated during the service that the victims “should not have died now” and described the arrangement of the coffins as evidence that authorities had failed to protect the community. He characterized the attack as an act of criminality rather than a boundary dispute or reprisal.
Government officials largely stayed away from the burial. The sole elected representative present was the local councillor for Kamuru Ward. Federal and state authorities had earlier condemned the killings. President Bola Tinubu directed security agencies to arrest those responsible, while Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani expressed deep sorrow and ordered intensified operations to apprehend the perpetrators and restore calm along the Kaduna-Plateau border.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Kaduna chapter and other groups described the incident as part of a disturbing pattern of repeated attacks on the community and called for urgent security intervention. Residents noted prior violence in the area, including killings earlier in 2026 that also resulted in mass burials.
The attack highlighted ongoing insecurity in southern Kaduna and Nigeria’s Middle Belt, where farming communities have faced recurrent raids involving gunmen often described by locals as Fulani militants or bandits. Officials and analysts have pointed to a mix of factors, including criminal banditry, competition over land and resources, and inadequate security responses. Investigations into the Naridon killings continued in the days following the burial.
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