‘We’re armed robbers,’ the assailants declared, before killing New Democrat boss

Media reports had earlier said he was killed by assassins, but one of his wives, who spoke to our correspondent said the men might be armed robbers as they identified themselves as such upon entering his compound.His first wife, Hajiya Amina, while narrating the incident to our correspondent said, “Immediately the seven men came into […]

Media reports had earlier said he was killed by assassins, but one of his wives, who spoke to our correspondent said the men might be armed robbers as they identified themselves as such upon entering his compound.
His first wife, Hajiya Amina, while narrating the incident to our correspondent said, “Immediately the seven men came into our compound on that faithful day, they told us they were armed robbers, asking us to bring out all our valuables. They asked everyone to lie flat on the floor; I was the only one they allowed to sit on the chair while they interrogated me on who was in the house and what they could get, including gold, money amongst other, after they had seized all our handsets from us.
“Six of them did not cover their faces, but one in particular covered his face. I did not recognize him, they were all carrying guns, the one that was covering his face carried an AK47 rifle while the others were carrying small pistols.
“They went to all the rooms in the house in search of what to take though they did not ransack the place as it seemed they were in a hurry.  I told them we did not have any gold or money in the house because our husband was not a rich man and we had just moved into this house seven months ago.  They even asked me what they should do if they found either money or gold in the house and I told them they could take it if they found it because I knew we did not have any of such. After that, they moved to our husband’s side of the house, they kept calling one Nura to come over to the place and when he got there, we heard a gunshot.
“It was a very frightening situation for us because we could not see what was happening. But after a while, we could not wait any longer, so we went to see how our husband was doing and we found him in a pool of his blood on the floor in his bedroom.  The robbers shot him in the head from behind and the bullet came out from the front of his head, even the tiled floor was destroyed from the impact of the bullet,” she said.
She said her husband had no known enemies. “My husband was a peace loving man. I had known him for over three decades and never seen him fought with anyone.  He was a giver of good tidings, he never wanted his family to lack and he was a kind of person that could give out his last kobo to someone in need.
“On that Friday, he had given some members of staff of the company he worked with some money ranging between N500 to N1,000 because they had not been paid salary for the past  three months. That goes to show you the kind of person he was. On that Friday, he had not even broken his fast when the robbers came because he was still going round to ensure that we had all we needed to break our fast before he would finally go and take his own. When Allah has destined something will happen, no man can change it. We don’t always leave the gate of the house open. Unfortunately, on that day, because the Almajiri we normally gave food to was around, the gate was open and that was how the gained entrance into the compound,” she said.
A staff of the New Democrat, who pleaded anonymity said, “We suspect a political undertone to his killing because the killers did not take anything from the house. They just stormed the house, killed him and disappeared. Recently, he forwarded a threat text message to his principal, but I don’t know if they alerted the security personnel about the issue.”
But Hajiya Hauwa said if her husband had received a death threat, he would have told someone in the family.  “My husband was a very open person. He shared things with us and he always consulted us in everything he did.  If he had received a death threat, I can swear that he would have shared it with us because we have no secrets. Even recently, he confided in me that he wanted to resign from New Democrat though he did not tell me the reason.”
On her part, Hajiya Amina said when the robbers came, she thought they were friends of their late son, Ibrahim who came to greet them. “I thought they were Ibrahim’s friends who came to say happy fasting to us until they identified themselves as robbers.
“While we were on the floor, I attempted to raise my head but one of the robbers used his leg to push my head down; he even kicked me on one side of my stomach. All we can do for our late husband is to pray for him.  Allah is a merciful; God and only He will judge those boys accordingly.  We have left everything in his hands because even if the police arrest them, will it bring our husband back? So we are not taking any action on the issue,” she said.
Sympathizers have continued to throng his residence located on Guava Road, Ungwan Dosa in Kaduna to condole the family. Meanwhile, the Police spokesperson, SP Aminu Lawal, confirmed the incident, saying that the police had already started an investigation into the killing.
 New Democrat’s publisher, Senator Aruwa, who spoke with our correspondent at the deceased’s residence, described him as an excellent human being, respectful and dedicated to his work. He prayed to God to grant him eternal rest. “What more can I say than to pray that may his soul rest in peace?  This is the way God has said his life would end and who are we to question God?  All he needs now is prayer, he was an excellent human being,” he said.
A former Chairman, Kaduna State Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Alhaji Ahmadu Coca-Cola, described the late Adamu as a good man saying, “we were together on Thursday where we discussed all aspects of life, as if I knew that was the last encounter I would have with him.
 “I have known him since 1972, he was an honest, sympathetic and hardworking man,” he said.
Also,  his childhood friend, Abdullahi Akilu Jugunun described him as God-fearing person who had no enemies. “He was like a brother to me because he was more than a friend.  We grew up together and I was with him when he married his first wife in Badarawa. I don’t know of a single person he had offended in the course of his duties because he was always helping people,” his childhood friend said.