Woman killed by royal gunman

THE celebration of Eid-el-kabir  turned sour on Monday at the palace of the Emir of Suleja, Alhaji Awal Ibrahim, as  a royal gunman attached to the  Suleja Emirate Council  shot and killed a woman while watching the annual durbar (horse race) that marked the end of the Muslim festival at the palace ground.

 Nigerian Tribune gathered that  the incident occurred around 6.15 p.m. just as the durbar was about to be rounded off and as the royal gunmen added colour to the occasion by  shooting sporadically into the air with their dane guns as it is the tradition.

It was learnt that one of the gunmen, who is yet to be identified, had an accidental discharge that led to the death of the 40-year-old identified as Hajiya Isa Aishatu, who was said to be standing on the balcony of the palace and watching the   durbar.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Pius Edobor,  denied knowledge of the incident, saying that, "the police are yet to get any official report on the incident."

In another development, tragedy struck on Monday at Maje Village  in Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State as a Fulaniman, who was allegedly drunk,  killed a passerby in order to escape arrest in the village.

 Nigerian Tribune   gathered that on the fateful Monday, the market day of the village, some Fulani youths had trooped to the village  market to celebrate sallah after which a fight broke out among them.

It was further gathered that the vigilance group in the area intervened and in the process, one of the suspects took to his heels.

The fleeing suspect,   according to sources, met someone coming from the opposite direction and he was said to have  descended on him and matcheted him to death, thinking that he was among those trying to arrest him.

When contacted, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for  Niger State police command, DSP Pius Edobor, confirmed the incident and arrest of the suspect.