The village head of Katakpa village in Toto County of Nasarawa State, Alhaji Abubakar Ahmadu, alongside two police officers and 11 civilians, have been shot dead by bandits.
The gunmen struck at about 2:00 a.m. on Monday, a local, Ibrahim Shuaibu, told Nigerian media. An open question is whether the bloody attack early Monday morning was a vengeance raid linked to the arrest of a local kidnap kingpin arrested in Sardauna Forest in Toto County on Saturday. [See following bullet item.]
They set houses on fire and fired at locals ruthlessly. Twelve residents, including the village head were hit by bullets and died instantly.
Before attacking the village, the killers made a brief stop at the police station in the community where they disarmed the police officers on duty and murdered two officers. The attack was a mirror image of an attack on Jan. 1, 2024 that killed 8 people and set houses on fire, including the palace of the village head. “The motivation of the attack may have been to destabilize local governance and to intimidate the Federal Police authorities and may be considered a terrorist attack,” according TruthNigeria analysts.
Authorities have yet to acknowledge the attack.
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
