Gunmen assassinated Hon. Levi Gbashi, an aide to Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku, in the early hours of Saturday in Donga Local Government Area.
Mr Tortsua Naagh, an eyewitness, stated in an interview that the incident occurred at Ityopaa Village as he and the late Gbashi were about to leave the location of the burial they attended in the village.
According to him, “We were leaving the venue of the burial on a motorcycle when some young men stopped our motorcycle and ordered us to kneel down.
“We refused to comply with their order as we bought time to attract the attention of the people who were around.
“One of them opened fire and shot at Gbashi three times and killed him instantly.
“He turned to me and the gun hooked. In the process of him running to get another gun from one of them, I ran and entered the crowd of people still at the venue of the burial.
“He followed me, but could not get me, that was how I escape death by the whiskers,” he narrated.
Naagh went on to say that the gunmen took the late Gbashi’s body and fled into the bush.
Hon. Nashuka Ipeyen, Chairman of Donga Local Government Council, confirmed the incident and stated that Special Forces have been dispatched to the area.
“Yes, it’s unfortunate that the incident happened. I spoke with the commander of the Special Forces and he has deployed his personnel to the area.
“Soldiers are currently combing the bushes in the area in search of the corpse,” he said.
DSP Usman Abdullahi, spokesman for the Taraba State Police Command, said he was unaware of the development and promised to contact our correspondent once more information about the incident became available. As of this writing, he has not provided an update.