Nigerian diplomat feared killed in Sudan

10 suspected herders die in Taraba troops raid

A Nigerian diplomat was yesterday found dead in his home in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, Reuters quoted two security sources as saying.Though the new agency was silent on details of the death, it, however, reported that the police were investigating the incident.Officials from the Nigerian Embassy in Khartoum were not immediately available for comments.

The Dubai-based al-Arabiya television identified the diplomat as the consul general, describing his death as an “assassination”. Reports on social media suggested that the killers used a knife in the attack.Though intermittent violence is common in the country’s warring southern and western regions, violence in the capital was rare.

President Omar Hassan al-Bashir had in recently shaken up the security establishment, replacing the heads of the army and intelligence service in February.In a related development, a combined team of the Army and Police has killed 10 suspected herdsmen terrorising Adamawa and Taraba states.

During a media briefing yesterday in Jalingo, the authorities said the suspects were eliminated at Katubu village after a tip-off.The victims, according to the Deputy Police Commissioner (0peration), Falaya Olalayi, were repelled by security agents while returning from Anya village, a border community, after unleashing mayhem on settlements in both states.

The police chief, during the parade where arms and ammunition were recovered, revealed that some of the suspects escaped with bullet wounds.He said: “ We received an intelligence report that armed bandits were seen in a large number at a border village between Taraba and Adamawa states.”

Items recovered include assorted guns, ammunition and four motorcycles used in “carrying out their ugly operations.”Calling on the public to always report any strange person and movement within their localities, the DCP assured the residents of security of lives and property peace in all parts of the state.

According to him, “in our commitment to ensure that lives and property are restore in Taraba State, we have resolved to give armed bandits terrorising the state a thorough fight.”

To the public, he said: “Give us your maximum cooperation,” admonishing the terrorists to seek alternative means of livelihood or relocate from the state. Olalayi enjoined the people to remain calm and go about their businesses without fear, noting that security operatives were determined to rid the states of criminal elements.