Muhammad Bakoshi, a man, was killed by terrorists when they invaded Zalau, a village in Bauchi State’s Toro Local Government Area, on Saturday.
Chronicle NG gathered from the Bauchi State Police Command on Sunday that the deceased’s wife, Hannatu, and 13-year-old daughter, together with another resident, were abducted during the incident.
Although the command’s spokeswoman, Ahmed Wakil, could not confirm if the victim was a cleric, various online news portals described Bakoshi as the “Discipline Officer of the Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Iqamatus Sunnah, Zalau.”
According to Timely Post, “He was killed, while his wife—who gave birth just two weeks ago—and his daughter were abducted and remained with the bandits as of the time of the report.”
According to the publication, a local claimed that the development has “thrown the community into fear and grief as they have been exposed to insecurity and bandit attacks.”
In a phone call with our correspondent on Sunday, the command’s spokeswoman, Ahmed Wakil, confirmed the occurrence, saying, “I can’t say if he is a cleric or not.
“But I can confirm to you that yesterday, at about 11:00 p.m., the command received a distress call from a good Samaritan reporting that at about 1:00 p.m., one Alhaji Bakoshi, a 65-year-old, was shot dead in his house while some persons were trying to abduct him and his family.
“The gunmen abducted a 45-year-old, Hannatu Bakoshi, the wife of the deceased, and a 13-year-old daughter of the deceased.
“The gunmen also entered a village in the area called Babangura in Zalau Ward and abducted a 20-year-old, Mubarak.
“As soon as the police received the distress call, the Commissioner of Police directed the Area Commander and all the DPOs in the area to comb the bush and intensify efforts for the rescue of the victims.
“Presently, our operatives are combing the bush to ensure that the perpetrators are arrested. The command will not rest until they are apprehended.”
The attack came on the same day that suspected terrorists attacked a group of police officers elsewhere in the state, killing two of them on the spot, adding to the rising wave of killings and kidnappings in the northern region.
