THE Katsina State Police Command has confirmed the killing of the lawmaker representing Shinkafi Constituency in the Zamfara State House of Assembly Muhammad Ahmad.
In a phone conversation with The ICIR, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Command Gambo Isah said the incident occurred at about 10.30 PM on Tuesday while Ahmad was on his way to Funtua in Katsina State.
“According to some reports, they say he was going to pass the night at Funtua when suddenly he met these roadblocks made by bandits. They blocked the road with logs.
“He was not alone, there were other vehicles, that is to indicate that he was not targeted. It was just their characteristic way of laying attacks to rob people or kidnap them into the forest,” he said.
The PPRO explained that the lawmaker was shot in the neck while attempting to escape the bandits and died due to the bullet wound.
Isah further explained that the lawmaker had embarked on the journey with his son, who took his corpse back to Gusau in another vehicle after the attack.
“According to reports, he was together with his son and it was the son that took him home in another vehicle,” he said.
However, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that bandits abducted the lawmaker’s son and driver during the attack.
Director-General Press and Public Affairs of the Zamfara State House of Assembly Mustafa Jafaru-Kaura made the disclosure to NAN on Wednesday while confirming the incident.
“He (lawmaker) was taking his son to a hospital in Kano. The lawmaker’s son and driver were kidnapped by the bandits,’’ Jafaru-Kaura told NAN.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.