No fewer than 38 people have been reportedly killed in separate attacks in Malagum 1 and Sokwong villages of Kagoro Chiefdom in Kaura Local Government of Kaduna State.

A government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed this on Tuesday.

He lamented that the affected rural dwellers have abandoned their communities to seek refuge in nearby villages.

Vanguard had earlier published that 28 persons were declared dead in the attacks by rampaging bandits in Southern Kaduna communities.

The bandits, who invaded the communities on Sunday night, also torched several houses.

Reacting, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state said it was mourning the death of over 28 innocent people of the Mallagum community in the Kagoro area who were brutally murdered on Sunday night.

He, then, added that 10 corpses were found discovered in Sokong, 20 motorcycles and 62 houses were burnt down, while in Malagum 1 community, 28 dead bodies were retrieved while 102 houses were set ablaze.

He described the situation as barbaric while calling on the government to urgently provide relief materials for the victims.

"As I am talking to you now, none of these villagers escaped with a single cup of beans. Their foodstuffs were completely burnt down.

"There is no official IDP camp now, the victims are taking refuge in some neighbouring communities while some of them are in some primary schools," the source said.

"There are ongoing plans to disfranchise our people from participating in the 2023 general elections. The government must show its might in ensuring these terrorists are crushed while sanity should be restored before the elections," he added.