The gunmen attacked the palace of the traditional ruler at about 9 p.m. on Thursday
Gunmen on Thursday killed the traditional ruler of Sansani chiefdom in Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State, Abdulmutalib Jankada.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the gunmen attacked the palace of the traditional ruler at about 9 p.m.
The incident occurred a few hours before the Nwonyo International Fishing and Cultural Festival organised by the state government in the Ibbi Local Government Area of the state.
A witness narrated that Mr Jankada was killed after the gunmen asked him several questions.
"The gunmen rode into Sansani town on motorcycles, sneaked into the palace and gunned down their target and quickly left," the eyewitness said.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the gunmen left with the phones of the traditional ruler after killing him.
Musa Sansani, a resident of Sansani, said they heard gunshots but did not know the shots were from the palace.
"The late chief told us yesterday that he was travelling to Ibbi for the Nwonyo Fishing Festival, which is taking place on Friday and Saturday. We never knew the chief did not travel yesterday evening so when we heard the gunshots, we did not suspect it was inside the palace," he said.
He said the wife raised the alarm after finding the body of the traditional ruler inside his room, which attracted the attention of people in the town and other towns in the chiefdom.
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"We are mourning and the late chief will be buried after Friday prayers," he said
The older brother of Mr Jankada, Nuhu Sansani, said "They came to the area at about 9 p.m. last night, they went straight to his palace, shot him and snatched his two phones.
"While they were going, they met with a young man who was coming on a motorcycle, they also shot and broke his leg before leaving the village," Mr Sansani stated.
PREMIUM TIMES recalled that the late chief was abducted along Jalingo-Wukari road two years ago and a ransom was paid for his release.
The incident brought the number of traditional rulers killed in the state to about seven in the last few years.
When contacted, the acting spokesperson of the police in the state, Gambo Kwache, said she was aware of the incident but had yet to get the details.
