Some gunmen on Wednesday have killed six men of northern extraction in the Sabo area of Ondo town in Ondo State.
Sabo, also known as strangers’ quarters in Hausa, is dominated by Northern Nigerians.
The victims were reportedly buried Wednesday according to Islamic rites while one of the victims was still receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital in the state.
The killing followed a terrorist attack on St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, another town in Ondo State on Sunday. The attack is suspected to have been carried northern Fulani men.
According to the state government, at least 40 congregants were killed by the terrorists in the attack.
Regarding Wednesday’s attack, the Sarkin Hausawa of Ondo, Alhaji Abdulsalam Yusuf said the gunmen stormed the area on motorbikes around 12:30 am and opened fire on innocent roadside petty traders.
“They came to our area (Sabo) on motorbikes and each was carrying three gunmen. All of a sudden, they started shooting people who were mostly Suya and tea vendors.
“A J5 bus driver who was on transit and had stopped to eat was the first victim. They killed a ‘guardman’ (security guard) and another shopkeeper who was trying to lock up his shop and run away from the assailants.
“They again gunned down two young men who were eating noodles at a mai shayi (a tea seller) stall. That makes five victims in Sabo alone.
“Again, they struck another area called Iba where they also shot dead another man,” Yusuf said.
Yusuf said the divisional police officer in the area had dispatched a police patrol team to the place to assess the situation and evacuate the corpses to the mortuary.
According to him, the attack might be a reprisal because they had been living peacefully in the area for more than 60 years until Sunday’s terrorist attack on worshippers disturbed the peace enjoyed by the community.
The Sarkin Hausawa of Shasha in Akure, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, said the Hausa community was not responsible for the attack on the Owo church.
“We have been living peacefully for long with the people of Ondo State; we don’t have any problem with them. We are doing our businesses together, so what will lead us to attack them or to attack their church?
“We want them to know that our people have no hand in the church attack,” he said
