TRAGEDY struck in Barkin-Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, on Monday, when some unknown gunmen stormed a drinking joint and killed four people, leaving others with injuries.
Nigerian Tribune learnt that the incident occurred in the early hours of Monday when gunmen, numbering about 20, attacked a joint where locally brewed drink, “burukutu,” was being sold at Ex-Land village, in Gashishsi district of the local government and opened fire on those at the joint at close range.
It was gathered that the gunmen killed four people on the spot, while five others, who sustained injuries, were taken to the Plateau State Specialist Hospital for treatment.
One of the survivors, Istifanus Zhi, told the Nigerian Tribune that the gunmen, suspected to be Fulani herdsmen on the rampage in the area, sneaked into the village in their large number with rifles and other weapon and opened fire on the villagers.
Zhi said the gunmen, who were in masks and black dresses, spoke in Fulani language throughout the period of the operation, which lasted about 30 minutes, before they bolted away.
He called on the government to come to deploy security men in the area, so as to arrest the situation.
However, the state police command, through its Public Relations Officer, Abuh Emmanuel, confirmed one person dead in the attack, adding that four others who sustained injuries are presently receiving treatment at the Plateau State Specialist Hospital.
He said men of the command had intensified efforts to bring the perpetrators of the dastardly act to book, adding that the attack was a shock to the law enforcement agencies, considering the efforts being made to restore normalcy in the district.
In another development, suspected robbers in the early hours of Monday gunned down a middle-aged man, Chief Emeka Ekwerendu, a car dealer, at Modebe Avenue junction, by St Johns Street in Onitsha, Anambra State.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that the four-man gang operating in a light green Toyota Sienna with no number plate, trailed their victim from a Catholic church at Odo-akpu, after he dropped his children at a primary school, before he was shot dead and undisclosed amount of money taken from his car.
According to an eyewitness, Chief Ekwerundu was driving his black Land Cruiser Jeep with registration number, Abuja ABC 202 AJ before the robbers shot his tyres, causing the car to lose control before they shot him.
The hoodlums were said to be armed with four AK 47 rifle and were shooting into the air to scare the people away.
When contacted, the divisional police officer, Central Police Station, Mr Temitope Fahugbe, confirmed the incident, but said he was yet to get the details.
Meanwhile, the police in Delta State have smashed an inter-state kidnap gang and recovered cache of illegal arms and ammunition with nine suspects arrested.
While a crippled native doctor and his father who prepared charms for kidnappers were arrested, the police also intensified its manhunt for a serving army corporal in connection with the crime.
Items recovered from the syndicate included four AK47 rifles, 34 magazines 343 different calibre of ammunition, a single barrel gun, one locally-made pistol, 12 cartridges, two battle axes, one Toyota Corolla and one red Volkswagen Golf.
According to the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Charles Muka, some the arms and ammunition were recovered from a ceiling of one of the suspects in Agulu, Anambra State.
Muka said the gang was responsible for series of kidnapping in the state, including that of a former commissioner, Mrs Kate Oniawa, at Ibusa and another woman at Ogwashi-Uku, Mrs Stella Emolieze.
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