Musa Affos (Rhapsodi), Jalingo
Tragedy struck on Friday as not less than 5 youths were reportedly shot and several injured by men of the Nigerian army in Taraba state.
It was gathered by Rhapsodi Affos Blog (RAB) reporter that the incident occurred in the early hours of Friday at about midnight at Baka village, a suburb of Ardo-Kola Local Government Council of the state.
According to our findings, the victims who were identified as Abdulkadir Bello, Tukur Bello, Philip Yakubu, Habu Yarima, and Ya’u Misa were returning from a wedding ceremony in Garin-Baka around midnight on Thursday when the soldiers who were in the community to checkmate the activities of hoodlums terrorizing the state, mistaken the youths for kidnappers and opened fire on them killing five of them instantly.
One of the survivors, an eyewitness, Isah Umar, narrated how he and his friends riding on motorcycles back to their village, Basa, ran into a group of soldiers.
Umar, a student of Taraba state university, further said that on sighting the convoy of their motorcycles, the soldiers opened fire on them.
According to him, he escaped into the bush but his friend Habu Yerima who conveyed him on his motorcycle was not lucky as he was hit by a bullet and died instantly.
Some of the parents who spoke with newsmen in tears could not fathom why the soldiers opened fire on the youths sighting them on motorcycles instead of arresting them.
One of the parents who gave his name as Bello Aliyu Jen told our correspondent that two of his sons were among the five youths killed by the soldiers. He gave the names of his deceased sons as Abdulkadir Bello -27 and Tukur Bello-20. According to him, Abdulkadir was a final year HND student of the College of Agriculture, Jalingo.
Passionately calling on the government to do the needful by bringing the soldiers to book, he said his dream had been shattered as his sons who according to him have been working round the clock to put smiles on his face are “no more”.
As of the time of filing this report, the remains of the affected youths have been deposited in the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre, Jalingo metropolis.
The Taraba State Police spokesperson, ASP Leha Reform could not be reached for comment over the incident as his lines were unreachable.
0 Comments