By Akanimo Sampson
Human blood is still flowing in Nigeria as politically inspired and sectarian killing of citizens is yet to abate. While the death toll in the bloody Kogi State governorship election keeps rising, suspected herdsmen and bandits are busy leaving bloodstain on their trail.
In Song local government area of Adamawa State, herdsmen allegedly aborted the lives of six hunters in a farming community. Local sources say the killer herdsmen arrived Aljannaru in a night, destroying farms, shooting at people, and getting the six hunters killed.
The Adamawa State Command of the Nigeria Police which confirmed the killing of the six hunters was pointing at the direction of herdsmen. The Command Spokesman, Sulaiman Nguroje, said the killing of the six hunters was preceded with the invasion of the farm of a hunter by herdsmen.
Nguroje said the hunter whose farm was invaded was a resident of Gombi Local Government Area who had a farm in Aljannaru, adding, “two days ago, he visited his farm to make some harvest. Unfortunately, there were these Fulani migrant herdsmen who were riding horses and camels and were moving with their cows. They invaded his farm and he reacted by calling his colleagues for help.
“He invited his colleagues from Gombi to join him to prevent the herdsmen from causing mischief in his farm. It was on the evening of Saturday when the hunters were not seen, that their people reported to the police and the police, joined by hunters and some vigilantes, mobilised and entered the area. They found the corpses at a certain remote side of Aljannaru, very close to Zumo Hill.”
While the police spokesman said the state police command has mobilised its operatives, other sister security agents, including the military, as well as hunters, to comb the bush and get the herdsmen arrested, suspected to be bandits, struck early Sunday morning at Kofar Kudu community in the Kaita Local Government Area of Katsina State, killing two men.
Though Spokesman for the Police in the state, Gambo Isah, a Superintendent of Police, confirmed the killing, saying security operatives had gone after the bandits, sources said the bandits, armed with AK 47 rifles, struck at the residence of a 50-year-old man, Alhaji Sa’adu Da Bagalo, about 3 am and whisked him away.
They reportedly killed Alhaji Bagalo and another 58-year-old resident, Bawale Inusa, in the process. An unnamed police officer and two others were also said to have sustained injuries during the encounter.
“On 17/11/2019 at about 03:01 hours, bandits in their numbers, armed with AK47 rifles, shooting sporadically, attacked the residence of one Alhaji Sa’adu Dan Bagalo, m, aged 50 years of Kofar Kudu, Kaita Local Government Area of Katsina State and abducted him. The police patrol team attached to Kaita Division responded to the scene and gave the hoodlums a hot chase into the bush.
“As the chase got closer and the hoodlums could no longer sustain the tempo, they killed the victim and one Bawale Inusa, male, aged 58 years of the same address and escaped through the bush path”, the Police said.
From Kogi, reports have it that the death toll has risen from four to six. Two persons were killed by stray bullets at the Adankolo polling unit in Lokoja when voters resisted thugs who had come to snatch ballot boxes.
While it was also reported that two others, identified as Umoru Shuaib and Farou Sulieman, were feared dead in Abocho community in the Dekina area, the PDP candidate in senatorial election rerun in Kogi West, Dino Melaye, said on Sunday that his nephew, who was shot when thugs invaded Ayetoro ward 01, unit 004 where Dino voted, had died.
The state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. James Apam, said on Sunday that an unnamed ad hoc Electoral Officer died in a boat accident in the Ibaji council area of the state during the election. He stated that the deceased was a student of the Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja.
The Collation Officer for the Mopa-Moro Local Government Area, Issa Nurudeen, who is the Head of Department of Economics, University of Abuja, said there was the cancellation of the election in Okeayi-Ilayi and Ayedodo because of ballot box snatching. He said there were 915 registered voters in the two units that elections were canceled.
