There was an attack on a mosque at Saya-Saya village in Ikara Local Government Area of Kaduna State, North West Nigeria, leading to the death of seven worshippers.

The unfortunate incident happened around 8 p.m. on Friday when the villagers were performing Isha’i (Sunset) prayers at the local mosque.

According to Daily Trust, five of the victims were gunned down in the mosque, while the remaining two other victims were killed at different locations within the area.

A resident of the village, Dan Asabe, told the newspaper that two other villagers who sustained gunshot wounds were rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Confirmed the incident, the village Head, Malam Abdulrahman Yusuf, said the head of the vigilante in the village was among the victims killed inside the mosque.

He added that one of the victims with gunshot wounds was taken to Aminu Kano Hospital for treatment, stressing that the village was thrown into confusion.

He said: “We suspected they traced him (vigilante boss) to the mosque to attack him. We were inside the mosque praying when they arrived and started shooting. Five persons were killed at the mosque, while a driver who brought food items to the village was also killed. The other person was killed at a nearby village.”

Yusuf said security agencies comprising soldiers and police from Ikara town and Palgore area arrived at the scene around 12:30 a.m. when the bandits had already left the village.

Acting Public Relations Officer of the State Police Command, Mansir Alhassan said security personnel had been mobilised to nearby bushes to fish out the perpetrators.

He asserted that the police and other security agencies were not informed of the attack until after the attackers left the area.