One person identified as Shuaibu Muhammad has been killed by a group of armed robbers who attacked a residential apartment in Danbare community of Kano State, on Monday morning. The deceased, Shuaibu Muhammad, was reportedly killed around the time of the Muslim ‘Subh’ (dawn) prayer.
He lived and worked with his friend, Haruna Nuhu Hussain, who survived the attack and recounted the harrowing experience. “There were nine of us in the house that night,” Hussain told Daily Trust. “Four had already left for the mosque while five of us were still inside preparing for prayer. I was asleep when they entered.”
According to him, the robbers first encountered one of the occupants near the compound’s well and asked for a prayer mat. As the man turned to fetch it, the assailants followed him into the house and launched their attack.
“I woke up to see one of them raising a cutlass to strike me. One of the guys quickly told them I wasn’t the one with the mat. By the time I got out, my friend Shuaibu had already been stabbed and lying dead,” Hussain said.
Hussain, who had only recently moved to the area, said that was his first experience of such incident. He also noted that prior to the attack, the robbers had assaulted another resident, leaving him with severe injury.
In a twist of events, residents managed to overpower one of the assailants, whom they believed was the ringleader of the group. The suspect was handed over to the Dorayi Divisional Police Station.
“More than 10 people in the area identified him immediately. They said he’s been involved in numerous robbery incidents and had been arrested several times but always found his way back onto the streets,” Hussain added.
Eyewitnesses also said the suspect was recently seen threatening shop owners with a cutlass and demanding money, a pattern they say is all too familiar.
Efforts to get the reaction of the Police in Kano weren’t successful as calls put across to the Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, went unanswered.
