Family of 5, 8 others killed in Kano

KANO-Tragedy struck in Kano, weekend, when 13 people died in separate incidents in the state.

A family of five died in an auto-crash on the Kano-Zaria highway just as four other people died during a clash by rival gang groups at Ungwa Uku, headquarters of Tarauni Local Government Area, Saturday night.

The incident happened on Tamburawa Bridge, about 21 kilometres from Kano metropolis, when the family members, who were travelling in a Mercedes Benz car, ran into a big gully by the entrance of the bridge. The driver was said to have lost control and plunged the car into the river.

Local divers were said to have mobilised for rescue operations before the arrival of fire service officials, recovered the mangled bodies of the driver’s wife and that of an infant whose head was severed from the body.

Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, in Kano, Hassan Kogari, while confirming the incident blamed bad road for the fatal accident, and appealled to the authorities to repair the bad portion of the road to save lives.

However, it was learnt that the bloody clash occurred when an armed group from Layi Jahanama allegedly attacked their opponents in Layi Kuka Street, leading to the death a youngster, while the three others were killed during a reprisal attack before the arrival of anti-riot policemen in the area.

On Friday, suspected armed robbers struck at the livestock market killing four, people and wounding scores of others even as the hoodlums carted away cash estimated at several millions of naira at Wudil near Kano.

Acting State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Assistant Superintendent, Umar Muhammad, said only one person died during the Wudil attack, adding that the casualty figure at Ungwa-Uku during the clash by rival groups had not been ascertained.

BY ABDULSALAM MUHAMMAD