Assaillants Kill Two Health Workers, Injure Two Others In Zamfara

Two health workers attached to Makosa village of Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State for polio vaccine have been shot dead by gunmen.

The two health workers whose names were given as Lawali Suleiman and Aliyu Mohammed were on duty supervising a polio vaccination centre last Tuesday when a group of armed bandits stormed the village and headed to the centre where the immunisation was taking place.

An indigene of the area who spoke to our reporter on the telephone on the condition of anonymity said the bandits stormed the village around 2.30 pm and headed to the Primary Health Center of the village where the polio vaccination was going on and asked everybody to surrender his belongings.

The source stated that there was a misunderstanding between the bandits and the health workers because they ( health workers) refused to surrender their handsets, which provoked the bandits to open fire on the health workers, killing them instantly.

Two other persons have also sustained various degrees of injuries and were currently hospitalized at Zurmi General Hospital.

The source further added that, “After robbing the people of their belongings, the bandits also carted away their animals”.

Confirming the attack, the State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Mohammed Shehu, said, “Those who launched the attack are part of the recalcitrant bandits who stormed the village with the intention of committing robbery.

“The information we received was that the two health workers lost their lives because they didn’t surrender their handsets to the hoodlums who in turn became angry and killed them.”

He lamented the incident saying the village used to be one of the peaceful areas in the state and assured the villagers that the police would soon fish out those bandits and make them face the wrath of the law.