Niamey, 10 Apr. A group of unidentified gunmen assassinated a village chief in the presence of his family on Sunday in the Tillabéri region of western Niger, almost a month after another village chief was killed in the same circumstances.
As reported to EFE by Mahamadou Illa, a notable in the area, the assailants arrived on motorcycles at the town of Badak Adouwoyi, in the rural commune of Abala, went to the house of the chief Mallam Halidou himself and killed him.
Illa explained that the assailants arrived at the scene at noon, went directly to Mallam Halidou’s home, dragged him out of his house amid the cries of his two wives and children, and murdered him.
“When we heard the noise of the motorcycles, everyone fled to hide for fear of being killed. But the assailants only wanted to kill the village chief,” Illa stressed.
Last March, another village chief in the rural commune of Abala was assassinated at his home in the same circumstances by unidentified gunmen.
These murders take place after a trip last February by the Nigerian Minister of the Interior, Hamadou Adamou Souley, to Abala to ask the heads of towns and tribes to collaborate closely with the authorities and the Defense and Security Forces in the fight against the terrorism.
The Nigerian minister recalled the commitment of the heads of villages to “actively contribute to restoring peace” in the area after the government has granted them several favors such as the reopening of some closed markets and the possibility of allowing some to visit in ña imprison their children implicated in cases of terrorism. EFE
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