A senior traditional title holder in Daura Emirate Council
in Katsina State, Alhaji Musa Umar Uba was abducted by four gunmen who stormed
his residence in the ancient city last night.
The traditional ruler, who holds the title of Magajin Garin
Daura is a retired Customs Controller and a cousin of the Emir of Daura,
Alhaji Faruk Umar.
A witness, who simply identified himself as Malam Abdullahi,
told the newsmen that the gunmen stormed the residence of the traditional ruler
in a convoy of two vehicles – a blue Peugeot 406 Saloon car and a Toyota Hilux.
“They met him in front of his house at Kwanar Agam in the
city and forcefully abducted him around 7pm after Magrib prayers.”
Another witness, Malam Muhammad, who lives in the same area
with the traditional title holder, said the whole incident played out like a
drama. “We all observed the Maghrib prayer in the same neighbourhood and left
the mosque.
The district head retreated back to his house and sat in the
front…It is part of his routine to wait until after the Isha’i, the last prayer
of the day before he will retire into his house.
“However, while seated in front of his house, he received
some phone calls. From all indications, those who called told him they were on
their way to see him.
“Few minutes after, they arrived at the house, parked their
vehicles, alighted and then approached the Magajin Gari. All of a sudden, they
grabbed him and whisked him into one of the waiting vehicles and sped off,” he
said.
“When people tried to come to his aid, the gunmen shot
sporadically in the air to scare the people who were forced to run to safety,”
he added. Asked if the district head was not in company of his security aides,
he said, “Only few palace courtiers were with him.
This is probably because Daura and environs have always been
peaceful.”
A source, who craved for anonymity, said the Magajin Gari
might have been targeted because of his standing.
“You know he is married to Hajiya Bilki, a niece to
President Muhammadu Buhari, being the daughter of his elder sister, Hajiya
Rakiya.
He is also the father of Fatima, who is married to the
president’s Aide De Camp (ADC), Col. Mohammed Abubakar. “We have never had this
kind of incident in Daura in the past despite our proximity to the Nigerien
border.
Though nobody was killed or injured, the people were highly
traumatised,” he said.
Another source, who does not want to be named, said he lives
less than 500 metres from the house of the Magajin Gari.
“When we heard the first shooting, we actually thought it
was form the electric transformer nearby. However, we suddenly heard more
sounds and it downed on us that it was gunshots.
“Most of those we were seated together ran to safety because
we only heard of things like this happening in other places.
“When the shooting subsided, I summoned courage and walked
towards the direction of the gunshots and lo and behold, it was the district
head that was abducted,” he said.
Shortly after, hundreds of sympathizers converged on the
residence of the district head while some soldiers and policemen were seen
patrolling the ancient city.
Most of the security challenges in Katsina State are
happening in communities close to Zamfara State.
‘Abductors yet to contact family’ Credible sources told the newsmen
that shortly after the abduction, the kidnappers who fired several shots into
the air drove on high speed towards Zango, a town roughly 16 kilometres away
from Daura that shares a border with the Niger Republic. The gunmen switched off
Magajin Gari’s handsets and so they could not be reached.
They also were yet to contact the family. Confirming the
incident, the Spokesman of Daura Emirate Council, Usman Ibrahim, said some
people tried to rescue the district head but the abductors fired shots in the
air which scared them away.
In a telephone interview with the newsmen, the Chairman of
Daura Local Government Area, Engr. Abba Mato, also confirmed the incident.
He said they had informed security operatives of the
development and efforts are on to rescue the ex-Customs controller. Engr. Mato
added that besides the efforts by security agencies to rescue the high ranking
traditional ruler, clerics and residents of Daura and environs have been urged
to pray to Allah to unravel the perpetrators.
Other sources told our correspondents that the Army, Air
Force, Police, Customs and Immigrations personnel have intensified surveillance
along all the corridors leading to Daura, up to the border with Niger.
This included Daura-Zango, Daura, Kongolam- Mai’adua and
Daura Sandamu among others. “Security agencies in Niger Republic have also been
alerted…We strongly believe the kidnappers would be tracked down soonest,” one
of the sources said.
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