Uniformed Gunmen Kill Eight Squatters In Army General’s Abuja Home

It was a gruesome scene in the early hours of
today as unknown gunmen in army uniform
opened fire and killed eight occupants of an
uncompleted building in Apo Legislative
quarters Abuja. Eyewitnesses said the incident occurred around
3 a.m. in an uncompleted building owned by an
army general. A source said the victims were
squatters in the building, and said they included
truck pushers, scavengers and water vendors
known as “mai ruwa.” The source added, “Those people living inside
the building had been told to vacate the
building on the orders of the Army General
who owns the house, but they refused to
leave. But it was unfortunate to see some men in
army uniform come in the midnight and open
fire on these innocent people. I personally
counted eight dead bodies this morning lying in
the pool of their blood. I saw bullets
everywhere in the building.” Saharareporters could not authoritatively
confirm that the shooting was carried out by
Nigerian soldiers. But a resident of the area told
our correspondent that the dastardly act was
likely ordered by the officer who owns the
building. The name of the officer could not be ascertained at the time of this report. Meanwhile the scene of the bloody assault has
been cordoned off by the men of State Security
Services (SSS), soldiers and police. The police
public relations officer in Abuja, Altine Daniel,
confirmed the attack to SaharaReporters, but
said the police had no further information about those responsible for it. He added that
investigations had begun on the matter.