Gunmen have killed a young man during an attack on his father’s house in Kawo, a community in Jigawa State in the north-west region of the country.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Zahraddeen Aminuddeen, confirmed the incident to Channels Television.

He identified the 25-year-old victim as Sabo Yusuf, saying his father’s house came under attack very early on Wednesday morning.

During the incident which occurred in Birnin Kudu Local Government Area, the assailants kidnapped the mother and brother of the victim.

Aminuddeen stated that the gunmen shot Yusuf and was rushed to a hospital in Birnin Kudu where he was confirmed dead.

“At about 0325hrs (on Wednesday), the police at Birnin Kudu received a report that unknown persons trespassed into the house of one Alhaji Abubakar ‘M’ 50yrs of Kawo, Birnin Kudu LGA and attacked and shot his son on the chest, one Sabo Yusuf ‘M’ 25yrs of the same address.

“They (the gunmen) also took his (Abubakar’s) wife and son to an unknown destination. The victim was rushed to Federal Medical Centre Birnin Kudu and was certified dead by a medical practitioner,” a statement from the police spokesperson in Jigawa said.

According to Zahraddeen, the Commissioner of Police in the state has deployed operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit in Birnin Kudu.

He added that the security operatives were directed to rescue the kidnapped persons and arrest their abductors with a view to bringing them to justice.

Jigawa, which shares borders with Katsina (in the north-west) and Yobe (in the north-east) has been relatively peaceful despite the security threats in those states.

In recent times, however, the state has been experiencing pockets of kidnapping and gunmen attack on communities in some of its local governments.

On December 25, 2020, gunmen killed two senior police officers and injured one constable in Garki Local Government Area of the state.

This came less than a week after gunmen killed a police officer who was trying to rescue some kidnapped victims in Maigatari Local Government Area.