*Investigations Ongoing, More Suspects Expected
By Sani Bala Karo, Kano
A male suspect has reportedly been arrested following the shocking murders of a woman, Fatima Abubakar, and six children in Dorayi Chiranchi Quarters in Kano State yesterday.
People&Politics learned that the suspect was picked up about 2:00am today by crack detectives of the State Police Command.
A man said to be the murdered woman’s husband is reported to be presently battling for his life in a hospital in Kano.
Sources familiar with the family claimed that the man is in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the hospital, whose identity cannot be disclosed for security reasons as the motive of his family’s killers is still unknown.
“He can neither talk, respond to questions nor move even a limb in hospital. He’s not even aware of his immediate surroundings. He hasn’t opened his eyes since the incident hit him,” a source disclosed.
In the wake of the killings, the State Commissioner of Police (CP), Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, had directed a team headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in-charge of Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Wada Jarma, to fish out the assailants and bring them to book.
Shock and outrage greeted the killings with reports saying another infant was flung into a well by the assailants.
No motive was given for the murders which occurred in the woman’s home.
The incident, the Police Command had disclosed in a press statement yesterday, came to light when the Command received a distress call about 12:10pm reporting an attack in the home of one Haruna Bashir in the area.
The statement, signed by the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, disclosed that the victims were attacked with dangerous weapons, resulting in fatal injuries.
On the arrest of the suspect, a police source in the Command, who is not authorized to speak to newsmen as so cannot be named, disclosed to People&Politics that the suspect will undergo routine police processing to determine the veracity or otherwise of whatever statement he makes.
“For now, we’re treating him as a suspect. That’s exactly what he is: a suspect. We’re still investigating and will get to the bottom of the matter as we pick more suspects because we believe these killings were not the work of one person,” the source said.
The State Police authorities were yet to speak on the latest development as of press time.
More updates as events unfold…
*PHOTO CAPTION: Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf.
