"He Held His Neck": Jigawa State LG Chairman "Ordered" Killing Of APC Supporter

The deceased Ya'u Hussaini Magama, 30
A supporter of the opposition party All Progressives Congress (APC) was murdered in Magama village, Jahun LGA of Jigawa State. There are allegations that his killers, followers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), were acting on the orders of the council Chairman.
The deceased Ya'u Hussaini Magama, 30, was a father of three and set to marry his second wife next week. He was reportedly beaten to a coma and then strangulated in the presence of  Jahun LGA Chairman, Alhaji Idris Danlawan. Attempts to save his life at Jahun Hospital were futile. Culled from the Dailys


Eyewitnesses' accounts
An eyewitness, identified as Salisu Amadu, was with the late Magama on Sunday when the tragic incident occured. He said that at about 7 p.m., the Jahun LGA Chairman was coming back from LG election campaign tour in Kanwar Masaba village, acoompanied by other PDP supporters. When he was driving past Magama, somebody started to chant "Bamayi!" ("We don't want you!").
The Chairman came out from his car and demanded that the person who shouted the offence identified themselves.
"On seeing the deceased who was among them, the Chairman personally held his neck and asked the thugs around him to deal with him," the eyewitness narrated, stating further that he tried to separate Magama from the Chairman's grip, but the thugs overpowered him.
"At last, the victim managed to run a little before collapsing and started gasping. He was later taken to hospital and died on arrival," Amadu said.
Another witness, Bala Magaji, a friend to the deceased, spoke thus: "(...) The chairman (who is well known to all of us) came down from his vehicle and asked: 'Who is the one that said 'Bamayi' amongst you?
"On sensing danger, my friend Ya'u replied, "Aikowayabi," meaning "Everyone here is with you," but the Chairman was not convinced and instead held the deceased by his neck and asked him to produce the others.
"Ya'u started gasping and we rushed to separate him from the hands of the Chairman, but suddenly other supporters of the PDP started attacking us with knives and sticks and, in the process, my friend was killed."
Yet another bystander, Danjummai Ibrahim, a blacksmith, confirmed he was attacked by the PDP supporters after the Chairman's order to "deal with" Magama. The deceased, according to this source, had just returned from Yobe, where he worked as a local butcher. He was about to take a new bride only to die "in the hands of the person who is supposed to have been our protector in the area."
Magama's father Malam Hussain Ililo faulted the council Chairman over the death of his son, and urged all the law authorities to do justice to the family by fishing out all the culprits to face the law.
Chairman's reaction to accusations
Meanwhile, the Jahun council Chairman Alhaji Idris Illiyasu Danlawan has denied playing any role in the victim's death.
"It was after we left the town that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Jahun Police Division alerted me that I was being alleged to have masterminded the killing of someone whom I knew nothing about.
"How can I, a whole council chairman, engage myself in a brawl with another person because he does not belong to my party? You know this story is false and I challenge anyone accusing me to prove that I was the person that killed him," he said.
The police confirmed the killing of APC supporter, saying the command was investigating the incident while the deceased had been taken to the hospital for autopsy.