By Sarah NEGEDU
Two vigilante members have been shot dead by suspected gunmen in Mayaki, a village near Zago, along the border between Abaji Area Council of the FCT and Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State.
The Abuja Inquirer reports that the victims were returning from Gulu market on a motorcycle when the attackers opened fire on them at a remote stretch of the road around 5:22pm on Tuesday.
Shuaibu Adamu, a member of the vigilante group and a relative of one of the deceased who confirmed the incident, said, “They were ambushed by gunmen who emerged from the bush and shot them in the chest and stomach,” he said. “It was some villagers, who were returning from Gulu market to Mayaki village, that saw the two corpses and their bike by the roadside. They came to inform our other members before we mobilised to the scene,”
Adamu said the victims were rushed to a hospital in Gulu, where doctors confirmed them dead. One of the bodies was later buried in his home village.
He described the killings as a reprisal, noting that two suspected gunmen were previously killed during an attempted cattle rustling at a herders’ camp in Mayaki two weeks ago.
Also confirming the incident, a local herders’ leader, Alhaji Yakubu Musa, said he had visited one of the bereaved families and expressed condolences.
“I want to use this medium to condole with their families over the unfortunate incident,” he said.
Musa appealed to the authorities of Abaji Area Council and Lapai LGA to collaborate in addressing the growing security threats around border communities.
