Suspected herders armed with dangerous weapons have reportedly invaded Powishi village in Kalmai, Billiri Local Government Area of Gombe State, killing the district head, Mallam Yusuf Akwara.
The attackers also set several houses ablaze and rustled an unknown number of animals.
A statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Buhari Abdullahi, on behalf of the state Commissioner of Police, Hayatu Usman, said the assailants stormed the village on motorbikes on Wednesday night, unleashing chaos.
Early Thursday morning, the Divisional Police Officer of Billiri LGA alerted the command of the incident, the statement added.
According to the statement, a combined team of police officers and personnel from the 301 Artillery Regiment, led by the Area Commander of Billiri, was mobilized to the scene to contain the situation but that the attackers had fled before the security team arrived.
The statement said nearby villagers and security personnel managed to extinguish the fire set by the attackers.
‘’The Commissioner of Police, Hayatu Usman, accompanied by the Commanding Officer of the 301 Artillery Regiment, the Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, and the Chairperson of Billiri LGA, had visited the scene to assess the damage.
‘’They also commiserated with the Mai Tangale, the Kalmai district head and the families and communities affected by the attack.
‘’The police command has deployed a team of detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department, as well as officers from the 34 and 59 Police Mobile Force (PMF) units, to track down and apprehend the perpetrators of this heinous crime,’’ the statement added.
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