Zamfara State Community Protection Guards, CPG, operatives have allegedly killed a prominent Islamic scholar and Imam of Mada Jumu’at Mosque, Sheikh Abubakar Hassan.
The Chief Imam was reported to have been picked up by the CPG operatives when they stormed his residence and took him to unknown destination, where he was killed.
A resident of Mada, who pleaded for anonymity, told our reporter on phone that about 3:30p.m., on Tuesday, the CPG operatives stormed the house of the Chief Imam, where they met him performing ablution and took him outside the town only in less than 30 minutes to hear that he was killed.
“They directly went to the residence of late Sheikh Hassan about 3:30p.m., when he is performing ablution to lead evening prayer and took him out of the town and killed him there.”
According to him, the Chief Imam had about sometime ago intervened in the rescue of some Okada riders, who returned home from their business in Lagos, but where intercepted by vigilante group, which accused them of being bandits, and one of the vigilantes known as Maikarfi accused the Chief Imam of conniving with bandits.
The source added that the incident, which took place over a year, had gone through the Criminals Investigation Department at Zamfara State Police Command, where the Okada rivers were released after investigation, and the vigilante members under the leadership of Maikarfi continue to accused Sheikh Abubakar Hassan of conniving with bandits.
Contacted, the state Commandant Community Protection Guards CPG, Col. Yandoto (retd), said the case was under investigation, adding: “The command will thoroughly investigate the issue and prosecute anybody found guilty of Chief Imam murdered.”