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Gunmen suspected to be bandits have killed Mr Zakari Ya’u Idris, the Village Head of Madaka in Rafi Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State.
The Chief of Staff to the Chairman of Rafi LGA, Mohammed Mohammed, confirmed the murder of the village head to on Saturday.
According to reports, Idris was killed a week after he was abducted by his captors who invaded Madaka community on Sunday last week, where they murdered three persons and abducted the village head for a second time.
Mohammed revealed that the bandits had earlier contacted the family of the deceased to pay a ransom of N800,000.
He noted that five persons that were released after they paid their ransom revealed that the Village Head of Madaka had been killed by the bandits.
According to the LGA chairman’s aide, those who gained their freedom said Idris was killed after going through torture in the hands of the gunmen, as they were always beating him.
They further disclosed that the remains of Zakari Idris were buried in the bush by the bandits.
The village head was abducted after his release about a month ago during which he spent three months in the custody of his abductors.
Those killed by the gunmen during the raid on Madaka included a leader of the vigilante group in the community, Isyaku Alhassan, his son Abdulhamid, and one other person.
Scores of other persons were also said to have been injured during the attack while many houses were set ablaze.
Similarly, the District Head of Gunna who was abducted in Yakila in the same local government has yet to regain freedom.
The gunmen, according to Mohammed, have yet to get in touch with the family of the district head to demand any ransom.
Gunmen kill PDP chieftain, Kidnap three daughters
Meanwhile, the daredevil gunmen also extended their killing spree in the state to one Alhaji Ahmodu Mohammed, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kampala ward of Bosso Local Government Area of the state.
According to reports, Ahmodu’s three daughters were also kidnapped by the bandits.
According to eyewitness account, the murder of Alhaji Mohammed, a successful farmer, took place Thursday after the bandits had paid two previous visits to his community.
The armed men were said to have previously attacked traders at the popular Beji market.
Thursday’s raid by the bandits who numbered about 15 and carried dangerous weapons took place around 2.00 am, it was learnt.
Confirming the development, a close family member said: “This is the third time that the bandits are attacking the man. They have been coming before but they couldn’t succeed because the man is very powerful”. “He was shot several times before he eventually died.”
The Niger State Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Tanko Beji confirmed the development. Beji said the remains of the slain Ward leader of the party had been interred according to Islamic injuction. He also confirmed the kidnap of three daughters of the deceased and described the incident “as unfortunate and pathetic”.