Unknown gunmen have slaughtered one Ibrahim Aliyu, the District Head of Balle town in Gudu Local Government Area of Sokoto state.
According to an eyewitness’ account, the bandits, who came on 10 motorcycles, dragging the monarch from his house and slaughtered him.
One Yusuf Dingyadi, an indigene of the town, wrote: “The bandits who attacked Balle, a peaceful town in Gudu Local Government Area of our dear Sokoto state, according to an eyewitness, operated with impunity after having an assurance that no security force would deter them or confront them.
“They killed the District Head, known as Sarkin Yamman Balle, Alhaji Ibrahim Aliyu, after dragging him from his house.
“Even the way they attacked the police station after shooting a Mobile Policeman and setting cars ablaze, one may easily say those criminals, riding on over 10 motorcycles, were apparently conversant with the security lapses and poor coordination of our intelligence services.
“The police station is only 500 meters from the palace/residence of the Sarkin Yamman Balle.
I knew him for over 35 years. His family lived a stone’s throw from our families house around Gandu, Sokoto town.
“He was a humble, jovial, generous and very dedicated leader. Even before the Bafarawa administration created that district and subsequently he was made the District Head, we are together in the defunct SDP and later PDP.
“He abandoned politics to work as a traditional ruler of his community, which consists mainly of Fulani and Hausa people.
“Prior to the latest attack, there were clearly ominous signs in the air. A few days ago, bandits in tens attacks Bafarawa and Kamarawa, as well as some other towns in the eastern part of Sokoto state.
“And then in yet another commando style, they have attacked the western part of the state. Was it not a plan to create fear and apprehension in the state?
“Terrible things are happening around us, nothing tangible to overcome such challenges.”
However, police are yet to react to the murder up till the time of filing this report.
