By Fatima Zahra Muhammad
ASHENEWS reports that the Niger State Police Command have arrested 14 suspects in connection with the murder of the village head of Lambatta, in the Gurara local government area of Niger state.
Recall that this online platform reported the killing of the district head, Abdulsafur Lambatta by some unidentified persons on Sunday last week in Lambatta.
Recall also that the murder prompted unrest forcing the Niger state government to place an indefinite curfew in the area.
Confirming their arrest, the Niger State Commissioner of Police, CP Ogundele Ayodeji said the operatives of the command attached to the Suleja division, arrested the suspects during a house-to-house raid conducted between January 17 and 18, 2023.
The Commissioner, in a statement obtained by ASHENEWS on Friday, said that the arrests were aided by witnesses who identified some of the suspects.
He said that the suspects had identified a chieftaincy tussle, as the reason behind their violent action.
“During this search with some pointers witnesses, 14 suspects were arrested in connection with the crime, which are; Umar Ilyasu Sarki 37yrs, Musa M. Musa 47yrs, Yakubu Bissala 23yrs, Hussaini Moh’d 18yrs, Usman Habibu 40yrs, Ibrahim Umar 45yrs, Ismaila Moh’d 38yrs, Ademola Okunola 51yrs, Ilyasu Dantani 28yrs, Yakubu Moh’d 35yrs, Yusuf Sarki 49yrs, Atiku Moh’d 21yrs, Adamu Yusuf 46yrs, Bashir Moh’d 27yrs.
“During interrogation, the suspects confessed that there has been a lingering issue of chieftaincy tussle between the late village head, and Umar Ilyasu Sarki, who claimed that the 37 District heads (Mai-Angwa) in the community are loyal to him; and that they did not recognize the late village head as their leader.”
The statement however said that some suspects including Hamza Umar Sarki, Dauda Umar Sarki, Abdulkarim Dantani, Zubairu Moh’d, Zayanu Ladan, and Jibril Garba were currently on the run.
“Effort is ongoing to arrest fleeing members of the group as the investigation is being intensified, while the suspects will be arraigned in court for diligent prosecution.” the statement added.
