Northern Regional Minister , Shani Alhassan Shaibu with REGSEC AT Zakoli community
The Northern Regional Minister, Shani Alhaasan Shaibu, has assured residents of Zakoli that the Northern Regional Security Council (REGSEC) will do everything within its power to bring the perpetrators of the killing of some natives of Zakoli to book.
He appealed to the Fulani who are natives of Zakoli to stay calm and volunteer information to the security to assist them to arrest the perpetrators.
“People here might have known one or two of the perpetrators which can serve as a lead to assist the police to arrest the perpetrators so that the law will deal with them.”
The Northern Regional Minister disclosed that arrangements would be made to quickly bury the deceased persons per Islamic beliefs.
Mr. Shaibu also noted that the Regional Coordinating Council will collaborate with the chief of Zakoli to support the palace with tents to provide temporal accommodation for the Fulani who are seeking shelter at the palace and food for the victims.
The Minister addressed the Fulanis when he visited the community and assured them that the police deployed to the community will continue to stay there to ensure that there is total peace in the area.
Eight persons, believed to be of Fulani descent, were killed by unknown gunmen at Zakoli, a community near Yendi in the Northern Region on April 13, 2022.
The death toll has however risen to 9 as of the time of filing this report.
Four other persons sustained gunshot wounds and are in critical condition at the Yendi hospital.
Even though the cause of the attack is unknown, some people believe it is a retaliation for an earlier attack, in which a young man was attacked at Zagbang on the Yendi Zabzugu road, leading to his death.
The community members have called on the Northern Regional Police Command, as a matter of urgency to ensure that the perpetrators are arrested and prosecuted for killing innocent people.
FROM Eric Kombat, Zakoli