Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse
A joint border patrol team involving operatives of the Nigerian Customs Service (NSC) and military officers yesterday allegedly gunned down a suspected rice smuggler in Babura Local Government Area of Jigawa State.
The deceased, Tasiu Muhammad, 22, a resident of Babura LGA, was killed at Unguwar Gawo, a five kilometers drive from Babura council headquarters.
The state Commissioner of Police, Bala Zama Senchi, at a press conference yesterday, confirmed the incident. He, however, said the police were not part of the operation that led to the killing.
According to residents, the deceased had been on the wanted list of security officials over his mastery of smuggling routes since the closure of the Nigerian – Niger border. The deceased was shot dead in an attempt to flee from arrest when the patrol team chased him.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the NCS in Kano, Jigawa command, Dan-Baba, said: “I’m currently in a meeting. I will get back to you later.”
Senchi further said that one person was confirmed dead and six others maimed in a clash between farmers and herders in Guri and Kirikasamma local government areas of the state. He said one person was killed while three persons were injured in Kirikasamma LGA, stressing that there is an apparent tension in Birniwa LGA, which made the command to deploy about 400 police officers to avoid reprisals.
He further confirmed that another man killed in Shuwarin town in Kiyawa LGA was stabbed on his chest by an unknown person while another person killed at Jibboga village in Dutse was hit on his head while passing through the front of the accuser’s house.