Gunmen kill Borno Justice Commissioner

Gunmen on Monday evening killed the Borno State Commissioner for Justice, Zanna Mallam-Gana, at his family compound in Bama, headquarters of Bama Local Government Area of the state.

Relatives told newsmen in Maiduguri on Tuesday that the deceased had gone to Bama to spend his weekend before he was shot by his assailants.

A relative, Malla Bukar, said the deceased used to travel to Bama on Fridays to spend the weekend with his kinsmen.

”He usually travelled to Bama every Friday to spend the weekend and return back to Maiduguri on Monday for work.

”But unfortunately, he was unable to return last Sunday following a bomb blast in Gwange, which led to the blockage of the Bama road by soldiers,” Mr. Bukar said.

He said the killers invaded the compound in the evening and shot him.

The Borno Commissioner of Police, Yuguda Abdullahi, confirmed the story and described the incident as unfortunate.

He said the police has commenced investigation into the matter.

”I have dispatched a team of detectives from the state CID to Bama to track down the killers.

”I believe that something tangible will come up,” he said, adding that the police are yet to arrest anybody in connection with the incident.

In August, gunmen had also killed the former Commissioner of Environment, Kadiri Kaza’a, at his residence in Bayan Quarters in Maiduguri in a similar manner.

It is not clear if the gunmen are members of the militant Boko-Haram group even though Borno is considered the base of the group. The group regularly confronts men of the Joint Task Force in shoot-outs and has carried out several bombings in the state.

The Borno Deputy Governor, Zanna Mustapha, and the Shehu of Borno narrowly missed being killed when a teenage suicide bomber attacked them after a Friday Jumat service in July.