At least 30 people were killed when armed assailants carried out an assault on Naridon village in Kauru local government area of Kaduna state in northwestern Nigeria early on Monday, residents reported.
Dogon Rana, who serves as secretary to the village head, said gunmen entered the community, fired indiscriminately and set homes alight. He said the attackers left a trail of destruction before fleeing the scene.
Another local leader, youth spokesman Ishaya Dawa, said the raid occurred close to midnight. "Some residents were slaughtered," Dawa said, adding that several bodies had been taken to the mortuary. He identified the victims as women, children and the elderly, and said the assailants torched houses prior to leaving.
Authorities reported four people sustained injuries in the attack, and residents told reporters that eight children were among those killed.
The assailants had departed by the time security personnel reached the village, with Dawa saying that officers arrived in the morning - hours after the violence took place.
Kaduna State police spokesperson Mansur Hassan said the command would release further details shortly.
The incident comes amid a broader pattern of criminal violence in parts of northwestern and north-central Nigeria, where armed gangs and other criminal groups have mounted deadly raids against communities. Separately, the northeast of the country continues to face an active insurgency by Islamist militants Boko Haram and the splinter group ISWAP.
The available information does not indicate that any organization has claimed responsibility for the Naridon attack.