3 Years After: Murder of Lambata Village Head Defense Counsel Opens Defense Hearing

By YM Bina

3  year after the  murder of the village head of lambata Mohammed Abdulsafur who was killed on the 14th day of January 2023 in Lambata Gurara local Government of Niger State by some youth allegedly loyal to one  acclaimed village head,  Iliyasu Umar Sarki who is standing trial for the murder along with 28 other suspects.

The defense counsels  have  open their defense as hearing on the matter continued before Justice Aisha Wodu Bawa sitting in high court 4 Suleja.

Counsel to the first accused person and  19 other defendants, Barrister Baba Shehu Ahmed outlined 4  witnesses among the accused  persons  before the court as  witnesses for his defense.

The first defense  witness Musa Mohammed Atanda who is the 12th defendant on the matter and prosecution witnesses 1 told the court that he was not in Lambata at the time  the village head was killed as he was in the neighbouring village of Tufa, where he went to collect medicine for his sick mother.

He said received a call from one Mai anguwa Umaru who told him  there was crises in Lambata.

According to him, he then  returned to Lambata  and discovered that security personnel  had  taking over everywhere and he went to his house where  he remained indoor untill he was invited to the police  area command suleja where he was arrested.

During cross-examination by the prosecuting chief state counsel Barrister Umar Halilu the witness denied that he doesn’t know any Mohammed Abdulsafur who was appointed as a village in Lambata or the person that was killed as villages of lambata.

He also told the court that since the death of the last village head  about 10 years ago,  the acclaimed village head Iliyasu Umar Sarki or any village were not appointed in Lambata till date.

The second defense witness Yunusa Ibrahim a cursine to the acclaimed village head also told the court that he was not aware of the incident as he was  inside Lambata market when the incident  occurred and was only informed by his father when he returned from the market later in the evening and the following day , his cursing Iliyasu Umar Sarki was arrested and taking to the state CID Minna.

He said,  he was also arrested two weeks  later at the state CID when he went to bail some of the arrested persons  in connection to the crime where  some family members of the deceased village head saw him at CID and told  the police that he was among the suspects.

The witness also told the court that he was not aware of the appointment of Mohammed Abdulsafur as the village head of lambata and his cursing Iliya Umar Sarki were also not in anytime appointment as the village head of lambata since the demise of the late village head Shuaibu Gani in 2019,  even though he doesn’t know who appoints village heads for lambata .

The presiding Judge,  justice Aisha Wodu Bawa told  counsels on the matter to assist the court by avoiding unnecessary technicalities that would delay proceeding in the matter, as she intends  to  speed  up the case  in order to  prosecute those found wanting and give justice to the deserving.

Justice Wodu Nawawo however, adjourned the matter to Tuesday the 13th day of May 2026 for continuation of hearing.