Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have shot and killed a businessman, Chinonso Ugwu, a resident of Balele village in the Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

A resident of the village, who spoke to journalists, on Thursday, on condition of anonymity said the gunmen stormed the village around 1.30am on Tuesday and started shooting indiscriminately.

The source said the gunmen, who he claimed had been terrorising different communities in the area, went to the house of the late 37-year-old businessman and shot him many times in his stomach and head.

He added that nobody could come to his rescue for fear of being attacked until the following morning when he was rushed to the hospital in the company of policemen.

“He was, however, confirmed dead on arrival by a medical doctor at the Burra General Hospital,” he added.

The Deputy Caretaker Chairman of Ningi Local Government Area, Lawan Muhammad, confirmed the incident to journalists.

He said immediately after he got the report of the attack, he mobilised security operatives comprising soldiers and policemen to the village for intervention and possible rescue and protection of the residents.

“The gunmen knocked on the door many times but he refused to open it for them. He stood by the door from the inside to prevent them from gaining entrance.

“It was at that time that they shot at the door many times, in the process, some bullets hit him,” Muhammad said.

The command’s spokesman, Ahmed Wakil, a Superintendent of Police, could not confirm the incident as of the time of filing this report when journalists contacted him. (The PUNCH, excluding headline)

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