Abuja: A top leader of Nigeria`s main
opposition party has been killed by gunmen suspected to be
members of a Muslim sect at his residence Maiduguri town in
Northern state of Borno.
"The gunmen gained access to All Nigeria People`s
party vice chairman Awana Ali Ngala`s house, after carting
away four handsets, shot him dead and swiftly left without
taking any other thing," Borno State police spokesman Mai
Mamman told reporters.
The attack came only three hours after suspected group
members shot two security agents stationed last night outside
the home of the speaker of Borno state`s House of Assembly.
PTI learnt from a source that Ngala, who is the
brother-in-law of the state governor Ali Modu Sheriff, was
trailed by the assassins on motorcycle.
He made attempts to escape from their trail by
following some alternative route to his house but was
surprised to see them emerge and point guns at him on getting
to his residence.
He was led to his sitting room and shot at several
times with the assailant shooting sporadically into the air to
pave the way for their escape.
Early September, a retired police officer Zannah Kyari
who gave testimony against a Muslim deadly sect Boko Haram
during a court trial was killed by men on motor bikes in Kano.
Later the same month, more than 700 inmates escaped
from a prison including 150 members of the outlawed sect whose
uprising led to the death of more than 800 people last year.
Boko Haram members have been issuing video warnings
against western education, which they term as "evil".
The sect wants to enforce Islamic law across Nigeria
and has also burnt a number of churches in the process.
Founded in 2004, the radical sect has clashed with
security forces in northern states of Bauchi, Borno, Kano and
Yobe.
The oil rich Africa’s most populous country has
scheduled elections for January but the northern region has
remained volatile with killings. The country’s 150 million
people is divided equally among Christians and Muslims.
PTI
