THE family of a 16-year-old boy shot dead by soldiers in Zaria, Kaduna State, on August 6, has accused the Nigerian Army of offering it N300,000 hours after the incident.
The deceased, Ismail Muhammad, was killed during a curfew at his residence at Sarkin Pawa Street. Samaru, Zaria.
According to the family, Muhammad did not participate in the protest that led to the curfew.
The ICIR reported that the Kaduna State government imposed a 24-hour curfew on the Kaduna and Zaria metropolis and their environs on Monday, August 5, following looting and unrest that accompanied the nationwide hunger protest.
Speaking with The ICIR on Wednesday, August 7, the deceased elder brother, Abubakar Muhammad, said soldiers enforcing curfew rained bullets which pierced through the door of his family house and killed his younger brother.
According to him, the General Officer Commanding (GOC)1 Division, M.L.D. Saraso, a Major General, visited the deceased’s residence and met with his family, including his parents.
“We showed them evidence that they shot our house door. We showed them where the bullets passed. We showed them everything.
“And this morning, I heard them spreading fake news that the boy was part of the protest. We have not had any protest here in Samaru,” he said.
He added that Saraso and his delegation informed the family that they came to investigate the shooting and would not quickly jump into a conclusion.
“He (Saraso) gave us something. He gave us a pack having ‘GOC Nigerian Army’ on it. He said most times when they go for a condolence visit, they bring gifts like water to share with people. But because shops were closed due to the curfew, he gave us a bag.
“We checked the bag and saw that it contained 300,000 naira. This morning, someone called my father and told him that he heard that they gave him N70 million.“
Abubakar stressed that contrary to reports, there was no protest in Samaru throughout the period and there was no need for the military invasion of the area.
He said he was in the house with the late boy when the soldiers shot through the door and killed him.
“Samaru is one of the most peaceful areas, there was no protest in Samaru. Even on the day of the protest, we were doing our activities normally.
“Yesterday, we were at home in the morning. We just heard that soldiers were around the market side sending people to go back to their homes that they were enforcing the curfew. So we just came out to watch what was going on.
“Many people in our area were out to see what was going on along the market side. Soldiers were beating people and sending them back to their homes. Unfortunately, a soldier was approaching our area and we decided to return home.”
Abubakar said he returned home with his brothers and locked their house door before the soldiers drew near.
He said he heard gunshots shortly after he locked the door and was inside the house.
“We just heard a gunshot straight to our door, twice. By the time we entered the room, one of my younger brothers was saying “They’ve shot Ismail. There was no way for us to meet him by the door side while the door was locked, maybe the soldier might fire another shot at the door. We waited for a while.
“Our neighbours came to the door knocking and asking us to open the door because they heard a shout saying Ismail had been shot. By the time I saw him, he was dead,” Abubakar stated.
The late boy’s parents are in their 50’s and had been distraught by the incident which took away one of their six children, noted Abubakar.
Meanwhile, the Army said the soldier who killed Ismail has been arrested.
The ICIR also learnt Wednesday morning that the GOC visited the deceased family on the order of the Chief of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja.
In a statement on Wednesday, August 7, the Army spokesperson, Onyema Nwachukwu, said soldiers were enforcing the 24-hour curfew imposed on Kaduna and Zaria metropolis following reports of violence during the #EndBadGovernance protests in the state.
He said the soldiers were attacked by some hoodlums while enforcing the curfew in Zaria.
Nwachukwu added that despite the curfew, thugs were burning tyres and hurling stones at security operatives.
He said although the soldiers intended to disperse the demonstrators with a warning shot, one of them unintentionally killed the boy.
“On arrival at the scene, the hoodlums brazenly attempted attacking the troops, prompting a soldier to fire a warning shot to scare the hoodlums away, which unfortunately led to the death of a 16-year-old boy Ismail Mohammed.
“The soldier involved has since been arrested and undergoing interrogation as at the time of this report.”
The statement added that Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Toareed Lagbaja, had sent a delegation to visit and condole with the family of the deceased.
A reporter with the ICIR
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