Gunmen assassinate Miyetti Allah chairman

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the unknown gunmen numbering about eight, invaded the Peace Community, Road 3, Ganaja road, Lokoja residence of Abubakar at about 2:05 Saturday morning to carry out the dastardly act.

Residents of the area, who spoke with newsmen, said they were gripped with fear when they started hearing gunshots from the residence of the chairman of Fulani socio-cultural group in the operation that lasted over an hour.

They said that the gunmen passed through “unfamiliar routes” to gain access to the deceased’s residence beating the ‘C’ Division Police Station route where they could have been spotted and questioned.

A neighbour who identified himself simply as Musa, said there were some strange faces in the vicinity much earlier before the incident, not knowing they had a sinister motive.

Musa said the gunmen shot at the door to the room of one of the deceased’s two wives and gained access into the house, cut the deceased on the neck and other parts of the body and later shot him severally.

A medical practitioner with the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, Dr Sam Alhassan, who lives a stone throw from the victim’s residence said: “I was in my room which is just steps away to his house and I started hearing gunshots.

“Then I rose up from my bed and looked through the window. I saw a group of bandits in two lines. At least I saw eight people, and they started shooting, shooting and shooting.

“The next thing that I saw was that a bullet hit the overhead tank and water started running down. Later I and my family went quiet for a while; then the wife of the deceased came out shouting, ‘they have killed my husband.”

Alhassan said he later came out with his landlord and went into the deceased’s house to ascertain the truth; only to find him lying in the pool of his blood with machete cuts and bullet holes in his lifeless body.

He however called on security agencies to be proactive in crime prevention and detection mandate to avoid loss of innocent lives.

Also, the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Williams Aya told NAN that the command received the report, adding that the incident was a clear case of assassination.

Aya said investigation into the matter has commenced, adding that the Police is yet to make any arrest in respect of the assassination.