Niger village head killing: Police arrest 14 suspects

From John Adams, Minna

The Niger State Police Command says it has arrested no fewer than 14 persons in connection with the murder of the District Head of Lambatta in Gowu Babangida Local Government area of Niger State, Alhaji Mohammed Abdulsafur on Saturday last week.

Recall that some irate youths from the town, in their large numbers had stormed the residence of the village head of Lambata and beat him to death over a chieftaincy tussle.

The irate youths who allegedly were not happy with the appointment of Alhaji Mohammed Abdulsafur as the District Head of Lambatta by the Emir of Suleja, Alhaji Awwal Ibrahim, attacked the village head in his palace and inflicted serious injuries on him and his younger brother, one Ibrahim Mohammed.

The district head was later confirmed dead in the hospital, as a result of the serious injuries he sustained during the attack.

In a statement by the Police Public Relation Officer of the command, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, in Minna, said police operatives led by the Area Commander of Suleja, conducted a house-to-house raid on the instruction of the state Commissioner of Police, Ogundele J. Ayodeji, after the incident and arrested 14 suspects in connection with the murder.

Wasiu in the statement gave the names of the suspects as, Umar Ilyasu Sarki (37), Musa M. Musa (47), Yakubu Bissala (23), Hussaini Mohammed (18), Usman Habibu (40), Ibrahim Umar (45), Ismaila Mohammed (38), Ademola Okunola (51),Ilyasu Dantani (28), Yakubu Mohammed (35), Yusuf Sarki (49), Atiku Mohammed, Adamu Yusuf (46) and Bashir Mohammed (27)

According to the police, “during interrogation, the suspects confessed that there had been a lingering issue of chieftaincy tussle between the late village head and Umar Ilyasu Sarki, who claimed that the thirty-seven district head (Mai-Angwa) in the community was loyal to him; and that they did not recognise the late village head as their leader.”

The statement added that “the suspects mentioned other members who participated in the act as Hamza Umar Sarki, Dauda Umar Sarki, Abdulkarim Dantani, Zubairu Moh’d, Zayanu Ladan, Jibril Garba and others presently at large.”