Unknown gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen have assassinated the District Head of Fadan Karshi, Mr. Bala Madaki and his nephew, Emmanuel Tanko, in Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Madaki was killed in his room.
The incident took place about 10 p.m. on Sunday. Narrating how the traditional ruler was killed, a community leader from the area, Pastor Mike Makarfi, said that the gunmen stormed the palace and started shooting. Makarfi said: “The weather was very hot on Sunday night and people were sleeping outside. About 10 p.m., the chief moved into his house with his family. Then some gunmen, who our people said were Fulani, stormed his compound and started shooting. They went into his room and shot him point blank.
They also shot a small boy, Emmanuel Tanko, who was the nephew of the late chief.” However, a traditional titleholder from Numana in the same Gwantu District who wants to remain anonymous said that the monarch may have been killed by his own people over a lingering feud over land. He told our correspondent on phone that the area has been a virtual killing field since the post-election violence of 2011.
The spokesman of Kaduna Police Command, DSP Zubair Abubakar confirmed the killing of Madaki. He said investigation was ongoing for possible arrest of the culprits in order to face the law. A resident of Gwantu who spoke to one of our correspondents, Malam Musa Usman, said that Fadan Karshi village has been deserted as people are staying indoors because of the tense atmosphere.
According to him, “police are patrolling the streets, but I am not sure if they have any clue about the murderers.” Governor Nasir el-Rufai has condemned the killing of the traditional ruler and his nephew, vowing that the perpetrators will be brought to book. The governor also commiserated with the families of the victims.
El-rufai, in a statement issued by his media aide, Samuel Aruwan, urged the people of Sanga to support the security agencies to investigate the attack and apprehend the perpetrators of the murders. “We will not relent in our duty of protecting our people. We will continue to strengthen the security agencies to do a better job, as well as encourage harmonious coexistence across our communities.
“The gains made in recent months to eliminate violent communal clashes in the area must be upheld. We must all be vigilant and do our best to maintain the peace in our communities,” El-rufai stated. In another development, six persons, including two children, have lost their lives as operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and suspected smugglers clashed in Oke-Odan, Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The incident, which occurred on Sunday evening, left several others injured and property destroyed. New Telegraph gathered that the clash erupted after Customs officials on patrol pursued some suspects who allegedly smuggled two vehicles loaded with rice from Igolo, a border town between Nigeria and Benin Republic.
The suspected smugglers were headed towards Sango in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of the state. Eyewitnesses told our correspondent that the Customs operatives impounded the vehicles and the contraband, but were later ambushed on their way to Idiroko office by the smugglers.
The development led to exchange of gunfire between the armed smugglers and law enforcement agents, who reportedly called for reinforcement. In the ensuing melee, six people were allegedly hit by stray bullets while others sustained serious injuries.
However, the state command of the NCS and Police Command said in separate reactions that only two persons were confirmed dead in the attack. The NCS Public Relations Officer, Usman Abubakar, said three Customs operatives sustained injury during the clash, adding that three of their checkpoints were also burnt down.
Abubakar said: “Two people have been confirmed dead. Our officers were attacked by smugglers on their way to Idiroko office after seizing two vehicles loaded with rice at Ajilete. “These smugglers carried guns, cutlasses, axe, broken bottles and stoned our officers with a view to recovering their vehicles with the contraband and injured three officers in the process.
“We had to call for reinforcement of military and police before we could escape from the smugglers.” The spokesman warned against obstruction of Customs operatives in the discharge of their duties, saying anyone caught risks two years imprisonment.
Corroborating him, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said one suspect, identified as Gbenro Oke, had been arrested in connection with the attack. The PPRO stated that the command had launched investigation into the incident, adding that the corpses of the two people killed had been deposited at a public morgue. He said: “The command was aware of the clash between some armed smugglers and some officials of the Nigeria Customs Service who were on their duty at various points along Oke-Odan-Idiroko border axis.
The smugglers attacked these Customs officials and there was exchange of fire between the two groups. “As I speak with you, we have a suspect with us – one Gbenro Oke from Oke-Odan, who actually mobilised people to go and attack Customs officials who were on duty.
We have seen it as a slap on the face of security agencies in the state. So, we are going to do proper investigation and take necessary action.” A group, Yewa Connecting Minds, yesterday condemned Sunday’s killing of innocent persons during the clash. In a statement, the YCM Coordinator, Prince Ekunola Abraham, demanded that justice be done.
“The Comptroller General of Customs should hand over the killer officer to the police for peace to reign in the area. We are ready to put an end to the unprovoked attack on villagers by Customs men who would always claim that their victims were smugglers. “Enough is enough of this wanton killings.
We want the Comptroller to hand over the killer to the police to investigate the matter.” In another development, residents of the agrarian villages of Orhua, Oke, Umokpe and Ekpan in Irhue Clan, Uhunmwode Local Government Area of Edo State yesterday raised the alarm over the presence of strange armed men in their communities.
According to the residents, the men who invaded the communities were armed with guns, bows and arrows, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons. The communities, in a statement by Tony Erha and Patrick Erhunsee, Coordinator General and Deputy Director of Okpamakhi Initiative, said they have it on good authority that the invaders were transported to Oke-Irhue by a firm.
According to them, “Although, our communities have had minor disagreements with Fulani herdsmen of recent and the issues had been resolved amicably and grazing on the land has continued, we do not want the company to hide under this ploy by renting gunmen and foreign mercenaries to attack, kill and maim our people who are defenceless.”
The people also lamented that villagers in the affected areas now live in fear because they know that the men were employed to “unleash terror on the people, killing and causing blood-letting and mayhem against innocent villagers of our clan.”
According to them, the plot is the “punishment they get for their refusal to allow the forceful acquisition of the over 8,000 hectares of our forest reserve, which was illegally sold by a firm, which the Edo State Government has for long revoked and gazetted.”
They also alleged that: “On May 1, the habitants of Oke-Irhue village end of the Irhue clan were shocked to see several truckloads of the strange and suspicious armed men move into the village while more of them moved into the village by road and the bushes.”
The people, however, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, to immediately rescue their communities from annihilation by those they called invaders. Personnel from the Ehor Police Division in Uhinwonde have been drafted to the villages.A source said the police have succeeded in driving out the armed men from Uhiere town, close to the area.
