Thousands of sympathizers on Friday attended the funeral prayers of the member of Bauchi State House of Assembly representing Dass Constituency, Musa Mante Baraza, who was murdered in his village, Baraza in Dass Local Government Area of the state.
Prominent personalities from within and outside Dass attended the funeral, including the Emir of Dass, Usman Bilyaminu Othman; Speaker of the House of Assembly, Abubakar Y Suleiman who led other members of the Assembly; the Clerk of the House, Umar Gital; state chairman of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) Alhaji Uba Nana, at the Central Mosque beside the emir’s palace.
Gunmen kill Bauchi lawmaker, abduct wives, daughter
Fear as erosion threatens Bauchi community
The lawmaker was buried at the Dass Central burial ground in accordance with Islamic rites.
Some unidentified gunmen killed him and kidnapped two of his wives and a one-year-old daughter.
Family sources told Daily Trust Saturday that about 20 gunmen stormed his residence around 2 am Friday and went into his bedroom where they shot him dead. And after the killing, the gunmen quizzed two of his wives and a daughter and took them to an unknown destination.
The late lawmaker recently tested positive to COVID-19 and was recuperating at his village.
He was elected into the House of Assembly under the platform of the APC in 2019.
Police spokesman, DSP Ahmed Mohammed Wakili, confirmed the incident and gave the names of those kidnapped as Rashida Musa Mante, Rahina Musa Mante and Fausar Musa Mante, daughter.
The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman, described the killing as shocking.
In a condolence message, the speaker who said he was yet to recover from the grief, said he submitted everything to Almighty Allah.
He condemned the murder and vowed to work with security agencies to fish out the killers.
A member of the family said; “On sighting Hon Musa Mante, they opened fire on him, shooting him on his chest and head. After the killing, the gunmen asked his three wives to give them money and one of them told the gunmen, ‘you have killed the person that will give you money, we don’t have money to give you.’
He said they threatened to kill the wives if they didn’t give them money and in the process one of the women escaped.
“The criminals dragged the two other wives alongside the one year old daughter out of the house to where they kept their motorcycles some distance from the house and whisked them to an unknown destination,” he said.
Meanwhile, the killing has plunged Dass town and surrounding villages into fear and grief, especially, Baraza village.
Our correspondent who visited the town during the funeral prayers observed the people in a sober mood, just as business activities were completely down as the incident dominated public discussion.
A resident, Mohammed Auwal, said; “We don’t have an access road in Baraza nor any security outpost except in Dass town which is about 20 kilometers away but as a result of the killing, there is heavy security patrol in the entire area.”
He added that all the residents had assembled in the house of the deceased to mourn with the family.
Another source from the family said the gunmen had contacted the family to pay an undisclosed amount as a ransom to release the abducted wives and baby.
The police spokesman said the command had commenced an investigation, but added, “I am not aware the kidnappers contacted the family.”
Governor Bala Mohammed described the departure of Musa Mante Baraza as a great loss to the state and promised to take stiffer measures to address security concerns in the area.
He led top government officials on a condolence visit to the palace of Emir of Dass and the residence of the deceased where he sympathized with them.
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