How armed men murdered Kano businessman

A businessman in his 40s, Alhaji Sabo Rimin-Kebe, was, until his demise, an upcoming philanthropist and had an established human relationship with his neighbours. His cold-blood murder in the early morning hours of Monday, may 18th was received with shock and disbelief.  

An eye witness and neighbour of the deceased, Malam Ibrahim Mamman informed Pyramid Trust that at about 3:00am that fateful night, while he was sleeping, he was suddenly woken up by an unusual noise.

He then woke me up and I noticed a man on my wall and I kept an eye for any mischief he could make. Later, the man jumped into the house of Alhaji Sabo Rimin-Kebe,” he said.

The intruder, according to the eye witness was carrying a weapon which he later found out to be a riffle.

Malam Mamman added that after the man jumped into his neighbour’s house,  he quickly sneaked into his room to call his neighbour so that he could be alerted on the intrusion in his house.

‘I picked my cell phone and alerted the deceased that there is an intruder inside his house, but unfortunately, the battery of my cell phone ran down,”  he said

According to he eyewitness, neighbours were shocked after they gathered outside the house to mobilise the arrest of the intruder.

‘We were shocked when the intruder flashed his torch at the deceased and shot at him at a close range,” he added.

The youngest daughter of the deceased later informed our reporter how the intruder attacked and killed her father before her own eyes.

Explaining further reporter, Malam Muhammad Sani, who was the deceased brother, said they suspected a gang who had earlier made an attempt on the life of their late brother.

Sani, who expressed his dismay and shock over the manner his brother was robbed of his life, said about 20 months ago a similar  attempt was made on the deceased’s life.

“He was attacked some months ago, but he narrowly escaped then, but see how the criminals kept pursuing him until this time around when  they succeeded in killing him in his own house.”

Another eye witness, Malam Usman, who is aged 74, and who also lives in Layin Kuka where the incident occurred, testified that the men who were over a dozen were seen by some men who were sleeping outside due to the heat, but had to remain quiet  in total fear and shock  

He described the late Alhaji Sabo Rimin-Kebe as someone who made no quarrel with anyone and who engaged in his business at Kantin Kwari market, with goodwill.

“It was, indeed, a bizarre moment for those living as we had not seen any of this kind of heinous crime for decades,” Malam Usman said.

Reacting, the Nigerian police confirmed the crime, and said it had embarked on an intensive investigation into the matter. The Force Public Relations Officer SP Baba Muhammad, however, wasn’t sure if any suspect had so far been traced to the crime..

But for the Rimin Kebe community and its environs, uncertainty and fear remained. Their concern, as Mamman pointed out is with the security of the people. In his words “our security and that of our families is surely threatened and we have no one to rely upon more than the Almighty God.”