On Friday, the Niger Police Command confirmed the arrest of 14 suspects in connection with the murder of the village head of Lambata, in Gurara Local Government Area of the State, Alhaji Mohammed Abdulsafur.
The suspects are: Umar Ilyasu Sarki, 37, Musa M. Musa, 47, Yakubu Bissala, 23, Hussaini Moh’d, 18, Usman Habibu, 40, Ibrahim Umar, 45, Ismaila Moh’d, 38, Ademola Okunola, 51, and Ilyasu Dantani, 28.
Others are Yakubu Moh’d, 35, Yusuf Sarki, 49, Atiku Moh’d, 21, Adamu Yusuf, 46, and Bashir Moh’d, 27.
It would be recalled that on January 14, at about 3pm, some irate youths of Lambata, in large numbers, stormed the residence of the deceased.
Spokesperson of the command, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the arrest in a statement on Friday.
Mr Abiodun said police operatives led by Area Commander Suleja, on the instruction of the Commissioner of Police, Niger State Command CP Ogundele Ayodeji, swung into action, and conducted a house-to-house search of the area on Tuesday and Wednesday.
During this search with some witnesses, fourteen suspects were arrested in connection with the crime.
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 thirty-seven District heads (Mai-Angwa) in the community are loyal to him; and that they did not recognize the late village head as their leader.
Furthermore, the suspects mentioned other members who participated in the act as Hamza Umar Sarki, Dauda Umar Sarki, Abdulkarim Dantani, Zubairu Moh’d, Zayanu Ladan, Jibril Garba and others presently at large.
The image maker said efforts are 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.
Furthermore, the suspects mentioned other members who participated in the act as Hamza Umar Sarki, Dauda Umar Sarki, Abdulkarim Dantani, Zubairu Moh’d, Zayanu Ladan, Jibril Garba and others presently at large.