Former Katsina Commissioner Killed Along Abuja-Kaduna highway

Former Katsina Commissioner Killed Along Abuja-Kaduna highway

NEWS DIGEST – A former commissioner of Education in Katsina State, Professor Halima Idris, was among those killed in Sunday kidnapping and armed robbery incident along Abuja-Kaduna expressway.

The late professor began her teaching career in 1983 at College of Advanced Studies, Zaria and worked in different capacities and institutions, culminating in her rise to the position of dean, Faculty of Science, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua University, Katsina in 2015.

She was sworn in as commissioner of Education, Katsina State in November 2015.

DAILY NIGERIAN exclusively reported on Sunday that the armed kidnappers, numbering about 10 killed and abducted scores of travellers near Gidan Busa village, located between Jere and Kateri along the expressway.

Mohammed Sheriff, one of the hundreds of travellers who parked at a distance, waiting for security operatives to clear the road, told DAILY NIGERIAN on phone at 6:45pm on Sunday that attack lasted for about an hour.

One of the survivors who spoke with DAILY NIGERIAN from the scene said an army officer and a policeman were among those killed by the gunmen.

“There is an army officer travelling with his orderly and daughter. The orderly escaped with gunshot but they killed the army officer and his daughter on the spot,” Haruna Isa, a VW Golf driver who survived the attack told our reporter.

“There is another person they killed after identifying that he was a policeman. Several other passengers were killed, while many were abducted.”

Witnesses said the security officers refused to engage the kidnappers on the premise that “they were waiting for reinforcement”.

Austin Iwar, the Commissioner of Police, Kaduna State, said he could not establish whether there was killing or kidnapping.

“All I can say is that a shooting incident was just reported to us around Kateri area, and our men responded to it immediately.

“I am now awaiting the situation report to know the cause of the shooting incident and take appropriate measures,” Mr Iwar told DAILY NIGERIAN.

In a statement released by the late professor’s family, her funeral prayer would hold at ILC Katuru Road by Sullubawa Close, Unguwar Sarki, Kaduna after Zuhr prayer today.

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