- Earlier reports on the incident had claimed that only one Mallam Yusuf Akwara was killed in the attack.
At least five persons have reportedly lost their lives in an attack on a community in Gombe State by suspected gunmen.
The incident happened at Powishi village in Kalmai District of Billiri Local Government Area of the northeast State.
Earlier reports on the incident had claimed that only one Mallam Yusuf Akwara was killed in the attack.
However, residents of the village, in an interview with Punch, refuted the police report which stated that only one person died in the onslaught.
Ove 250 houses were said to have been razed as of Thursday morning in the invasion that began on Wednesday.
A resident, Sunday Bala, said, “They (suspected herdsmen) burnt the whole village they (suspected herders) killed about five people.
“You know we witnessed it and we have over 200 people who were injured, they burnt buildings in two villages totalling about 250 houses.”
Another resident, Salome Bako, said, “The first time they came was during the daytime when they ventured into farms asking owners to leave the farm but they (farmers) insisted that they were yet to harvest their produce.”
A resident, Danladi Joshua, decried the figures disclosed by the police authorities on the number of causalities.
He added, “There is no Mallam killed, one of the persons killed was a retired army officer who settled in the village to farm, grandpa. I don’t know of any Mallam.”
According to a press statement signed by the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Buhari Abdullahi, “The command received a report that a group of people on motorbikes suspected to be herders armed with dangerous weapons invaded and attacked Powishi village, setting some houses ablaze and rustling an unknown number of animals.”
Abdullahi stated that the attack occurred in the wee hours of the morning, and a combined team of police officers and the 301 Artillery Regiment, led by Area Commander Billiri, was mobilised to contain the situation.
Discussion about this post