Map of Bauchi State
ARMSTRONG ALLAHMAGANI, Bauchi –
A 40-year old businessman in Tilden Fulani area of Bauchi state, Tasiu Tilde, has allegedly been killed by gunmen who attempted to kidnap him but failed.
NATIONAL ACCORD learnt that the incident, which happened about 100 kilometers from the Bauchi state capital on Tuesday.
It was learnt that the deceased, Tilde, who is popularly called ‘Mai Kemis’ was in his Pharmaceutical shop when the gunmen whose number is yet to be ascertained, attacked him and killed him in the process.
A source who did not want to be mentioned said that the gunmen stormed the area and started shooting sporadically to scare people away causing pandemonium as people scampered for safety.
He said: “It was in the process that the late Tasiu was shot and killed while the gunmen ran away having missed their target of kidnap.”
Confirming the incident, the Bauchi State Command’s Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakil, a Superintendent of Police, who confirmed the incident in a telephone interview with journalists on Wednesday, said that the incident happened on Tuesday evening, when the gunmen, whose mission was to kidnap, stormed the village shooting indiscriminately to scare people away.
He said: “Some yet to be identified gunmen stormed Tilden Fulani in Toro LGA on Tuesday, their main mission was to kidnap their target, one Tasiu Abdulkareem Tilde, who was operating his business in the area”.
He said that the gunmen tried to take their victim away but he resisted and in the process, they shot him in the chest several times as the gunmen escaped from the scene of the incident.
He said: “A good Samaritan put a distress call through to our patrol team in the area, they immediately mobilized to the scene of the incident but before they got there, the suspected kidnappers had fled leaving their victim in pool of his blood.
“The patrol team immediately evacuated him to the nearest Toro General Hospital where on arrival, a Medical Doctor on duty certified him dead. Investigation is ongoing to apprehend the suspects.”
Wakil stated that in a related development, unknown gunmen, at about 1.00am, attempted to force themselves into the compound of a resident of Tudun Danbiram in the same Tilden Fulani area, and tried to gain entrance into the main room.
According to him, a good Samaritan called the Police and some personnel with members of the multi-security Taskforce were immediately drafted to the area.
He added that they engaged the bandits in a gun duel during which some of them were wounded but managed to escape.
The PPRO called on people in the area to continue to cooperate with the Police and other security agencies in a move to secure the area and apprehend the criminals operating in the area.
He further appealed to the people to immediately report to the nearest Police station or any point of the Multi-security Taskforce operating in the area any person with gunshot wounds for immediate action.