Bandits Killed My Wife, 100-Year-Old Father – Kaduna Survivor

A 48-year-old resident of Naridom community in Chawai Chiefdom, Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Joseph Marcus, has recounted how bandits who attacked the community in the early hours of Monday, 27 July, killed his wife and his 100-year-old father, leaving him both a widower and an orphan in one tragic night.

Marcus told LEADERSHIP that he was asleep when the attackers invaded the community shortly after midnight, shooting indiscriminately and forcing residents to flee for their lives.

“They came and started shooting everywhere. Before I knew what was happening, they killed my wife—they also killed my father, who was over 100 years old. One night, I became a widower and an orphan,” he said.

According to Marcus, his father was too old to flee when the attackers stormed the community.

“My father was old and couldn’t escape. He shot him in the head. He died there,” he said.

Marcus said he narrowly escaped through the back of his house as gunshots echoed across the community, adding that some residents were killed. In contrast, others sustained injuries as the attackers moved from one part of the community to another.

He said the gunmen operated for several hours, leaving behind destruction and grief, adding that many residents remained in nearby bushes until the attackers left the community.

Marcus said he and his late wife had seven children, adding that he was now faced with the responsibility of caring for them alone following his wife’s death.

“I don’t even know where to start. We have seven children, and now I have to take care of them alone without their mother,” he said.

According to him, several houses and shops were destroyed during the attack, while many families were displaced and are struggling to come to terms with the loss of loved ones and property.

“We have lost everything. My wife is gone, my father is gone, and our seven children have lost their mother. We need protection. We don’t want any other family to experience what we have gone through”.

Marcus appealed to the Federal Government and the Kaduna State Government to strengthen security in vulnerable communities and ensure those responsible for the killings are arrested and brought to justice.

The attack on the Naridom community was part of the deadly assaults that rocked parts of the Kauru local government area on 27 July, during which at least 30 persons, including women and children, were killed by the assailants.