Gunmen kill Niger LG councillor

Saleh Yakubu, the councillor representing Allawa ward in Shiroro LGA of Niger state, has been shot dead.

According to NAN, Emmanuel Umar, Niger commissioner for internal security and humanitarian affairs, said the incident occurred in the early hours of Friday.

Umar said he received information that the councillor was killed while on his way from Kuta, the headquarters of Shiroro, to Allawa, his hometown.

He said the councillor was on a motorcycle alongside another person when he was attacked.

The commissioner added that the gunmen ordered the councillor and his colleague to alight from the motorcycle and shot them.

Also confirming the attack, Daniel Jagaba, chief of staff to the chair of Shiroro LGA, said he received a call from the chairperson who informed him of the incident.

When contacted, Wasiu Abiodun, police spokesperson in the state, said the command was yet to receive any information on the incident.

Meanwhile, Allawa is one of the villages in Shiroro LGA where banditry operations are active.

Several residents of communities in Shiroro LGA have been killed, abducted, or currently displaced as a result of attacks by gunmen.