Jigawa: Suspected ritual killings set Birnin-Kudu on fire

The suspect is former Jigawa State Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Abba Umar Kukuma whose house and property were destroyed. Although no life was lost during the incident, the angry youths,  armed with dangerous weapons set ablaze several houses and vehicles worth millions of naira. It took the quick intervention of the former Governor of Jigawa […]

The suspect is former Jigawa State Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Abba Umar Kukuma whose house and property were destroyed.

Although no life was lost during the incident, the angry youths,  armed with dangerous weapons set ablaze several houses and vehicles worth millions of naira.

It took the quick intervention of the former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Ali Sa’adu Birnin-Kudu and the police to calm the storm.

Weekly Trust learnt that about seven houses and seven vehicles were destroyed in the Kukuma during the rampage that lasted more than an hour.

Checks at Zarainawa Quarters revealed that trouble began shortly after the corpses of the deceased children were found dumped adjacent to the zonal office of the Jigawa State Agricultural and Supplying Company (JASCO) located along Kano-Birnin-Kudu highway in the early hours of Tuesday.

Sources told Weekly Trust that the shoes of the deceased and some stains of blood were noticed in a Peugeot Evolution dark-blue in colour allegedly owned by the former commissioner.

The vehicle, which is now in police custody, was said to have been parked in a lodge close to the deceased’s family house in the same area before the incident. The accused and his family were absent when the mob attacked their house.  Later in the night, Weekly Trust learnt that Kukuma was arrested by the police.

Confirming the incident and the arrest, the state Police Commissioner, Alhaji Abdullahi S. Fana, said the suspect has been arrested and investigations are on.

The command’s spokesman, ASP Abdul Jinjiri, assured the residents of the police determination to investigate the case.

However, the incident, Weekly Trust observed, has continued to generate divergent views among the residents over the attack on the property of the former commissioner. Some of the residents told Weekly Trust that the attack was politically motivated.

Recounting his ordeal, the father of the three-year-old Aminu Bala, Bala Ya’u said he was in Hadejia Local Government Area of the state attending a seminar when his brother called to inform him of the incident.

Ya’u, who is also the headmaster of the Model Science Primary School, Birnin-Kudu, explained that he had to return to Birnin-Kudu to join the rest of his family members to search for Abba.

Despite their intensive search, he added, they could not trace Abba’s whereabouts until last week Tuesday when he was informed about the corpses found along Kano-Birnin-Kudu highway. He recalled that “I was at home when suddenly somebody came to my house on a motorcycle and requested me to follow him.

When I demanded for an explanation, he insisted that I should follow him. On arrival at the scene, I saw a crowd and the bodies of Abba and Bala lying on the ground.”

Asked whether any part of the body was removed, he said:  “I could not exactly confirm that because I was completely devastated, hence I couldn’t search their bodies to confirm whether parts of the body had been removed.”

“I have left everything to God. He is the One who gave me the child and now He has taken him away, therefore whoever has a hand in the killing, God knows best how to punish him accordingly,”  the father said.

According to the elder brother of the deceased children, Abubakar Muhammad Sarkin-Malamai, Bala and his brother, Abba Magaji were abducted by the suspected killer since Friday, August 7.

 “We kept on searching for them since last week Friday, but we could not see them until today when some people informed us that their corpses were found dumped at the front of JASCO Zonal Office,  Birnin-Kudu. We have found their shoes in one of the cars that belong to the former commissioner,” said Abubakar.

The Chief Medical Director of Birnin-Kudu Medical Centre, Dr. Dauda Muhammad, told newsmen that the corpses of the deceased have been referred to Mallam Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, for autopsy.

Muhammad explained that preliminary observation conducted at the Federal Medical Centre, Birnin-Kudu, indicated that nothing was removed from the bodies.

“We referred the corpses to AKTH to conduct further investigations with a view to ascertain what lead to their death,” Muhammad   said.