Incident Sparks Outrage and Prompts Investigation
The Nigerian Army has announced the arrest of a soldier who fatally shot a teenage protester in Zaria, Kaduna State. The incident occurred on Tuesday morning in Samaru, Zaria, when a soldier on patrol shot Isma’il Muhammad, a secondary school graduate, around 9 am.
Samaru, home to many staff and students of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, was the scene of the tragic event. According to witnesses, Muhammad was shot dead at his residence on Sarkin Pawa Street. His mother, Zainab Sani, recounted that Muhammad and his friends were playing outside their house but ran inside and shut the gate upon seeing soldiers approaching with one pointing a gun at them.
Major General M.L.D. Saraso, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division, visited the residence of the deceased and met with the grieving family. Addressing the local youth afterward, Saraso expressed his condolences and assured the community that the incident would be thoroughly investigated. He urged anyone with substantive evidence to come forward for necessary action.
Describing the event as “unfortunate,” General Saraso called on the community to remain peaceful and law-abiding.
In a statement on Wednesday, Army spokesperson Onyema Nwachukwu explained that soldiers were enforcing a 24-hour curfew imposed on Kaduna and Zaria following reports of violence during the #EndBadGovernance protests in Kaduna. He claimed that soldiers were attacked by hoodlums while enforcing the curfew, who threw stones and burned tires despite the restrictions.
Nwachukwu stated that the soldier fired a warning shot in an attempt to disperse the crowd, which accidentally killed Muhammad.
“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 troops immediately mobilized 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 to attack 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 Muhammad.
“The soldier involved has since been arrested and is undergoing interrogation as of the time of this report.”
The statement added that the Chief of Army Staff, Toareed Lagbaja, had sent a high-powered delegation to visit and offer condolences to the family of the deceased.
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