January 21, 2025

Armed robbers on Monday attacked the popular Ngalda Market in Fika Local Government Area of Yobe State, killing seven residents and carting away N16.5 million.

According to a statement on Tuesday by the spokesman of Yobe State Police Command, Dungus Abdulkarim, the attack took place when the residents were closing from the Popular Market, a border community with Gombe state.

He said the gang leader Datti Alhaji-Dadji who is also a resident of Ngalda Community has been arrested.

He tasked personnel to arrest the fleeing gang members while urging the public to assist the command with credible information.

“January 20, 2025, at approximately 2100hrs, a group of six armed robbers, led by Datti Alhaji Daji of Ngalda town attacked three shops at Ngalda market.

“The incident resulted in seven fatalities and eleven injuries. The robbers made off with approximately sixteen million five hundred thousand,” he stated.

“In response, the people of Ngalda Town mobilized and killed three of the robbers, while three others escaped with injuries. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) led a team of patrol officers to Alhaji Dadji’s house, where they recovered a locally made pistol with three cartridges. He was arrested and is currently in police custody, facing interrogation as the investigation unfolds.”

While commiserating with the families of the deceased, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ahmed Garba, ordered an immediate investigation into the incident and called for calm.