A newly recruited teacher in Sokoto State, Maniru Sa’adu Imam, has been killed alongside a driver and his five-year-old son in an ambush by suspected bandits along the Gundumi-Isa road.
The 30-year-old teacher and father of one was reportedly returning from Sokoto metropolis after attending a salary verification exercise when the incident occurred on Wednesday.
According to a report by Daily Trust, the other victims were identified as Abdurrahman Umar, the driver of the vehicle conveying them, and his five-year-old son, Abubakar Abdurrahman.
A witness, Malam Kabiru Isa, told the newspaper that the victims were travelling behind a convoy of vehicles returning to Isa under heavy security escort when the gunmen attacked.
He said residents of Isa usually travelled to Sokoto metropolis only twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, because of the security situation in the area.
According to him, the convoy departed at about 4pm on Wednesday, but some vehicles, including the one conveying the victims, returned to their usual meeting point after other vehicles had left.
“We wanted to wait for everyone who had travelled with us, but the security operatives insisted that we leave early, so we left them behind,” he said.
Mr Isa explained that as the convoy approached Gundumi, the security personnel escorting the travellers spotted suspected bandits and opened fire, forcing the gunmen to flee.
He, however, said the assailants later laid an ambush for vehicles travelling behind the convoy and opened fire on their occupants.
“They killed three people, including Imam, the driver and his son. They also injured three others, while one passenger is still missing,” he said.
Mr Isa added that the bodies of the deceased were buried on Thursday morning.