Gunmen on Monday attacked the family home of Nigeria's Vice President Namadi Sambo in the Kaduna state, killing a cobbler and wounding a policeman.
A spokesman for the vice president, Sani Umars said the gunmen came to the Baba Ahmad Road in Tudun Wada, Zaria, where the family house of the Vice President is located and started shooting sporadically.
"When they exhausted their bullets the gunmen, who were fully engaged in a shootout with the security men on duty there resorted to using the butt of their guns as weapon. In the process they hit one policeman on the head injuring him slightly," he said.
An eyewitness corroborated the account saying the attackers reached the area around 11:30 am (local time) and immediately opened fire on the policemen attached to the house.
"Three of them came on an old motorcycle and on arrival they opened fire on the policemen around. The sporadic shooting led to the murder of a cobbler and one of the policemen was shot on the shoulder. The other policemen took cover and fired back," he said.
This is the second time since 2011 that the Zaria residence of the Vice President has been attacked. It was razed by angry mob during a riot that followed the 2011 election results. A radical Islamist sect Boko Haram, carries out frequent attacks in northern Nigeria.
The group has been waging a sustained war in Nigeria's northern cities in their bid to install an Islamic emirate in the country. On January, the sect attacked the city of Kano killing more than 180 persons. In several of the sects attacks, bombs, suicide bombers and drive by gun shots have been used to kill hundreds of people.