By Publisher

Kindly share

The Nigerian Army has announced the arrest of its personnel for allegedly shooting dead a 16-year-old protester during the ongoing EndBadGovernance protest in Kaduna State.

The victim,  Ismail Mohammed,  was reportedly gunned by the trigger happy soldier on Tuesday when the troops of the Nigerian army came to Samaru community in Zaria to disperse the protesters in line with the curfew earlier imposed on the area by the state governor, Uba Sani.

The Army in a statement issued by Onyema Nwachukwu, its spokesperson, said the officer responsible for the incident has been taken into custody.

“On 6 August 2024, troops of the Nigerian Army received a distress call that some hoodlums gathered in Samaru in large numbers, burning tires on the road and pelting stones on security personnel,” the statement read.

“The troops immediately mobilised and arrived at the scene to disperse the mob and enforce the curfew imposed by the State Government.

“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.”

This is despite the denial of kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector General of Police, that no live ammunition was fired at protesters.

Nigerians had on August 1, 2024, embarked on 10-day nationwide protests against harsh economic conditions and high cost of living, which they blame on bad government policies. They are demanding among other things, a reversal of the removal of fuel subsidy by the President Bola Tinubu, who also failed to address any of their grievances in a national broadcast on Sunday.