A 40-year-old man identified as Tasiu Abdulkareem Tilde was on Tuesday evening, shot and killed by some gunmen suspected to be kidnappers in an abduction gone wrong.
WITHIN NIGERIA gathered that the incident occurred at Tilden Fulani, about 100 kilometers away from Bauchi, on the Bauchi-Jos highway, where the deceased, popularly called ‘Mai Kemisi’, was operating a patent medicine store.
The unknown gunmen, whose number could not be ascertained, it was gathered, stormed Tilde Fulani Tuesday evening and started to shot sporadically, which made people to scamper for dear lives to avoid being hit by bullets.
An eyewitness informed journalists in Bauchi that it was in the midst of the ensuing melee that the late Abdulkareem was shot and killed after which the gunmen ran away having missed their target of kidnap.
Confirming the incident, the Bauchi State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ahmed Mohammed Wakili, informed that the incident occurred on Tuesday evening, adding that the gunmen stormed the village and shot indiscriminately to scare people away.
The police spokesman, a Superintendent of Police (SP), informed that the deceased was the target of the gunmen to kidnap.
“Some yet to be identified gunmen stormed Tilden Fulani in Toro LGA on Tuesday, their main mission was to kidnap their target who was one Tasiu Abdulkareem Tilde who was operating his business in the area,” Wakil informed.
According to him, the gunmen tried to whisk the deceased but he put up a stiff resistance, adding that it was in the process of his resistance that the late Abdulkareem was shot in the chest several times.
He added that having failed to achieve their aim, the gunmen escaped from the scene of the incident, saying that a good Samaritan informed the police of the incident.
“A good Samaritan put a distress call through to our patrol team in the area which immediately mobilized to the scene of the incident but before they got there, the suspected kidnappers had fled leaving their victim in pool of blood.
“The patrol team immediately evacuated the said Tasiu to the nearest Toro General Hospital where on arrival, a medical doctor on duty certified him dead. Investigation is ongoing to apprehend the suspects,” the PPRO said.
In another development, Wakil informed that another attempt was made at the Tudun Danbiram area of Tilden Fulani when unknown gunmen at about 1am forced themselves into the compound of one man and tried to gain entrance into the main room.
He added that a good Samaritan made a distress call to the police and some personnel with members of the multi-security taskforce were immediately deployed in the area.
According to him, the operatives engaged the bandits in a gun duel during which some of them were wounded but managed to escape.
The PPRO, however, called on people in the area to continue to cooperate with the police and other security agencies with a view to securing the area and apprehend criminals operating in the area.