Billy Graham Abel, Yola
The Brigade Commander, 23 Armoured Brigade Yola, Brig.-Gen. Muhammed Bello, and the Adamawa State police command had, on Thursday, paraded 17 suspects in connection to Tuesday’s killings in Gwamba which claimed the life of the state Publicity secretary of the PDP and former Adamawa state commissioner for Youth and sports, Sam Zadok.
The suspects were paraded today at the brigade headquarters in Yola, Adamawa State.
According to the Commander, “The troops of 101 special Forces Battalion on Excercise Ayem Akpatuma (Cat Race) deployed at Numan Local Government Area of Adamawa State swiftly responded to distress call and supported troops at Gwamba village under attack by herdsmen on Tuesday 27 February 2018.
“Despite swift reaction to rescue the village from destruction, the notorious herdsmen set the village ablaze before troops arrival.
“The determined troops trailed the herdsmen and arrested 6 of them at Garigiji village while trying to escape.
“During the process of the arrest the herdsmen show resistance, which made the alerted troops to engaged them and killed 10 of them.
According to information obtained from the Nigerian Army, the military recovered, “One AK 47 rifle, 41 rounds of 7.62mm special, one locally made rifle with 25 cartridges, one cutlass, looted clothes and one motorcycle.”
In a related development, the state’s command of the Nigerian Police has also paraded 11 suspected perpetrators of the of Tuesday killings in Gwamba.
The police says it has recovered 5 Ak47 rifles, 1 locally made rifle, 10 magazines, 161 rounds of live ammunition, among other deadly weapons.
A statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Othman, says “A combined troops of 23 Brigade while on a Special Mission Operation at Gwamba village, Demsa L.G.A. arrested and recovered the suspects for taking part in the Gwamba attack and handed over to the police for discreet investigations and possible prosecution.”
The statement says the suspects will be charged for offences of “criminal conspiracy, mischief by fire, having in possession of deadly weapons and culpable homicide.”
One of the suspects interviewed Hamadu Barki says, “I was invited for the fight by the Pulaaku association, I have never used a weapon before.”
Earlier on wednesday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP,) in Adamawa state has confirmed the killing of its Publicity Secretary Sam Zadok in a herdsmen attack in Gwamba.
Zadok a former commissioner for youths and sports, was killed along Barre village of Demsa local government area of the state.
Confirming the reports Abdullahi Adamu Prambe, Secretary of the party, called on security agencies to track the perpetrators of the mayhem and to bring to an end the spate of killings in the state.
Prambe said, “We were waiting for him to attend a meeting only to hear the news of his death.
“Government should intensify efforts to address the silent killings in the state before it escalate to serious problems.”
The death toll in the early Tuesday morning Gwamba attack is said to have risen to about 41 people.