How bandits attacked Emir of Birnin Gwari’s vehicle – Driver

Bandits on Monday evening opened fire on the vehicle of the Emir of Birnin Gwari, Alhaji Zubairu Jibril Mai Gwari II, while on its way to Kaduna along the KadunaBirnin Gwari highway.

The emir was, however, not in the vehicle.

Daily Trust gathered that the emir’s driver and his orderly were traveling along the highway and on approaching Buruku, two gunmen appeared from the surrounding forest and opened fire on their vehicle.

The attack occurred hours after gunmen attacked UBE Primary School Rama, near Birnin Gwari town where they abducted three teachers who are yet to be released.

However, when Daily Trust correspondent visited the emir’s home in Kaduna, he was said to be indisposed but his driver, Umar Jibril, popularly called Sarkin Mota confirmed that the 73-yearold monarch was not in the vehicle at the time of the attack.

Jibril told our correspondent that the emir had left Birinin Gwari through another means to attend Tuesday’s scheduled security meeting with Governor Nasir el-Rufai and other traditional and religious leaders while the driver and orderly were on their way to meet him.

Narrating the incident, Jibril said the two bandits who appeared in front of their speeding vehicle first threw a nail-studded plank and a tree branch on the road in an attempt to force them to stop.

“We did not stop. They targeted me with their guns and shot at us. But I kept on driving. As Allah willed, the bullet missed my head,” he said.

“By God’s grace, we stepped on the nail plank because we did not slow down, but the tyres were not completely deflated. We moved on while they fired shots at us, the orderly who was in the passenger’s seat also fired shots at the bandits,” he said.

Jibril said though there were security road blocks with security men on the road, the gunmen made the bold attempt at Buruku community, several minutes after they passed a security point. “The two bandits were the only ones we saw but as it is their pattern, others may be behind us or hiding in the bush and waiting for us to stop, but Alhamdulillah, we did not turn or stop,” he said.

Sarkin Mota said apart from a minor scratch he sustained from the pieces of shattered windscreen on his forehead, none of them was injured from the incident.