THE Niger State Police Command has admitted its officer shot an officer of the Nigeria Immigration Service in Minna, the state capital, recently.
But the command said the shooting was in error and was done to save its team of officers who were under a mob attack.
The admission counters the accusation by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Thursday, March 27, that a Chinese firm in the state ordered the shooting.
On Friday, March 28, The ICIR contacted to the spokesperson of the Niger State Police Command, Wasiu Abiodun, who confirmed the case.
He explained that the shooting occurred on February 21, 2025, at about 12:30 p.m., when a police surveillance team from A Division, Minna, was patrolling the Obasanjo Complex area.
According to him, officers spotted road construction workers with suspected stolen iron rods. However, on sighting the police, the workers abandoned the rods and fled.
”The police team attempted to evacuate the suspected stolen items, and while in the process, the team was attacked by other reinforced workers and some public urchins with stones and other offensive weapons damaging police patrol vehicle.
“As a result of this, in an attempt to escape being mobbed, the team leader fired a shot which unfortunately hit one female officer of immigration service on the lap who was passing on a motorcycle,” Abiodun said.
He added that the injured officer was rushed to the Specialist Hospital, Minna, for medical attention and that the police team involved has been arrested and detained for disciplinary action.
Similarly, the China Chamber of Commerce in Nigeria has denied that the Chinese firm accused of ordering the shooting by the minister had any links with the shooting.
In a statement on Friday, March 28, the Director-General of the chamber, Cui Guangzhen, dismissed claims that a security officer attached to a Chinese company was responsible for the shooting.
He said a police officer fired the shot during an arrest operation in Minna, Niger State, on February 21, 2025.
Guangzhen’s response followed remarks by Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who condemned the alleged attack on the immigration officer by a guard working with a Chinese firm in Niger State.
The minister, while condemning the incident at a stakeholders’ sensitisation workshop on the implementation of the Nigeria Visa Policy 2025 in Abuja on Thursday, March 27, described the action as an outright “attack on Nigeria.”
He vowed to escalate the incident at the highest diplomatic level, adding that such action would not be tolerated.
But according to the chamber, its findings from the Niger State Police Command showed that the officer was struck by a stray bullet fired by the police, not by a Chinese security officer.
“The China General Chamber of Commerce attaches great importance to the reports and carried out an immediate investigation. Based upon the findings of police authority in Niger State, the incident mentioned by the Minister of Interior happened on the 21st of February, 2025 in Minna, Niger State.
“During a police action, the state police force was trying to effect an arrest of some local citizen who was suspected of stealing iron rods from a Chinese company.
“When encountering stiff resistance of the suspect, one of the police officers fired a shot and the bullet accidentally hit a passerby who was later identified to be an immigration officer,” the statement added.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M