Date Published: 09/25/11

Boko Haram murder five Igbo traders

Tragedy struck in Mandala, Suleja Local Government area of Niger State on Thursday, as five Igbo traders were murdered in cold blood by a yet unidentified gunmen who had since disappeared, shortly after the act was committed.

The incident occurred between the hours of 7.00 and 8.30 p.m., as a group of gunmen, suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect were said to have invaded Madala market on the outskirt of Suleja, shooting dead the victims at very close range for an undisclosed reason

Investigations however revealed that the incident caused some ripples in Minna, the state capital in the early hours of Friday, especially among non-indigenes as they are of the opinion that prior to the killings, their assailants had allegedly ordered them to recite some portions of the Holy Quran, after which they were shot dead.

It was further gathered that no sooner than distress calls were allegedly made to the Divisional Police Officer, Suleja Police Station, by some concerned citizens, that a team of police detectives ,led by the DPO, swung into action and raced to the scene with a view to salvaging the situation by taking the victims to the hospital for treatment.

But before the police could get there , the five victims, four of whom were identified by their relations and friends as: Uche Nguweze, John Kalu,Sunday Emmanuel and Oliver Ezemah, as well as the yet unidentified fifth person were said to have given up the ghost while the hoodlums were said to have fled.