CITY NEWS Gunmen kill 2 cops, steal guns in Suleja Agric secretariat set to cut foodstuff prices in Abuja
Suspected gunmen on Thursday night shot dead two policemen and escaped with their guns at an outpost near Suleja, Niger State.
A resident of the area, who gave his name as Salihu, said the incident happened at about 8:22 p.m. at Maje police outpost, near Suleja town.
He said the two suspects alighted from an unmarked vehicle and went straight to where the policemen were sitting and opened fire on them, killing them on the spot before taking away their guns.
“The sound of the gun shots attracted residents of the area and caused the people to scamper for safety,” he added.
He said the suspected gunmen immediately went back into their vehicle and sped off towards Minna road.
It was gathered that the remains of the deceased policemen have been deposited at Suleja General Hospital.
When contacted, the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elkana, said, “Yes, that is what we are actually appraising, but I will get back to you later,” he told our reporter on phone. The FCT Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat has said it is working hard to boost food production and reduce prices of foodstuffs in the territory.
The Acting Secretary of the secretariat, Dr. Musa Aliyu, who stated this in Abuja while fielding questions from journalists at the weekend, revealed that the FCT Administration had earmarked 274,000 hectares of land for agricultural development.
He called on all interested farmers in the territory to take advantage of the expanse of land provided by government to cue into the Central Bank’s Anchor Borrowers’ Scheme to better their lives.
He added that the secretariat’s partnership with the Leventis Foundation to develop the capacities of youth in agriculture would also be given priority attention.
The acting secretary also said the secretariat would embark on the rehabilitation of facilities at the Integrated Agricultural Development and Training Centre in Yaba, Abaji.
He assured that the women in agriculture programme would equally receive a boost this year, adding that it would build economic capacity of the female folk and liberate many of them from the yoke of poverty.
“The agriculture secretariat has put in place an implementation committee to mobilise farmers to participate in the Anchor Borrowers Scheme, which is targeted at smallholder farmers who are into rice and soya beans production.
“The FCT enjoys comparative advantage in the production of the two crops,’’ he said.