ONE local has been killed by suspected kidnappers who also abducted three people including two traditional rulers in Balma Village of Ningi Local Government Area, Bauchi State.
Vanguard gathered that the operation lasted from 11.00pm on Saturday till the early hours of Sunday morning.
A villager told Vanguard that the village Head, the Mai Anguwan Bakutunbe, and one other person were abducted in two separate incidents.
“After they kidnapped the village Head and left, one Alh Haruna Dan OC was found lying down after they shot him in the neck. The victim was then rushed to the Ningi General Hospital where he was confirmed dead by a medical doctor,” he said.
The Acting Chairman of Ningi local government area, Ibrahim Zubairu, confirmed the incident, saying that the traditional ruler of Balma was sitting with people in his palace when the kidnappers who were three in number arrived in a car, stormed his palace and forcefully took him away.
He said that, “Alh Haruna Dan OC, came back home on his motorcycle and was going to enter his house when the kidnappers saw him and shot him, which led to his death.”
He urged the people of the local government to continue praying for peace and to cooperate with the security forces to achieve peace in the area.
He assured that the local government has already reported the incident to the relevant authorities to take action.
According to him, at the local government level, they have taken action to ensure that the military officers in Jimi town are returned to reduce the occurrence of acts of terrorism.
Meanwhile, the Bauchi State Police Command confirmed the incident to journalists during a telephone conversation.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakil, said that the second Village Head was abducted on Friday.
“The Bauchi State Police Command on Sunday received a report from the Balma outstation in Ningi LGA that some unknown gunmen stormed the village.
“They shot sporadically and took away the village head, one Alh Hussaini Saleh who is 48-year-old to an unknown destination.
“One Haruna Jibrin was shot in the head by the gunmen. When the Police received the distress call, a team of policemen was drafted to the scene, they rescued the victim and rushed him to the General Hospital, Ningi where he was receiving treatment. He was later confirmed dead by a medical doctor.
“Presently, the police in Ningi Division are combing the bush trying to see how they can rescue the two abducted Village Heads alive,” he noted.
Similarly, the gunmen on Saturday night stormed Bakutunbe village and kidnapped two people, the neighborhood leader, Idris Mai Unguwa, and another man named Ya’u Gandu Maliya who is about 45 years old.
The kidnappers were said to have contacted their families and demanded the sum of N8 million each as ransom.
This is coming barely one week after two Fulani men, Alhaji Malami in Ware Ware village and Buba Kwancikwaniya in Yelwa village were kidnapped in the same Ningi LGA.
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