The Nigerian Army has confirmed that a young protester was killed by a soldier in the Samaru area of Zaria, Kaduna State.
The #EndBadGovernance protest in Kaduna turned violent on Tuesday afternoon when a soldier shot and killed 16-year-old boy, Isma’il Muhammad inside his father’s house.
The security forces were enforcing a 24-hour curfew imposed by the state government after violent protests broke out in Zaria and Kaduna on Monday.
Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, the Director of Army Public Relations, confirmed the incident and stated that the soldier involved has been arrested and is being questioned.
According to him, the army received a distress call about hoodlums gathering in Samaru, burning tires, and throwing stones at security personnel.
He said, “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 been arrested and is under interrogation as at the time of filing this report.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, is deeply saddened by the incident and has sent a delegation led by Major General Lander Saraso to visit and offer condolences to the boy’s family.
Isma’il Muhammad has been buried according to Islamic rites, with senior military officers in attendance.
The incident occurred amid the curfew imposed on Kaduna and Zaria by the state government.
KanyiDaily recalls the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protesters had stormed the house of former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike in Port Harcourt.