Teenager Dies from Soldier's Bullet at Kaduna Protest

Kaduna Protester, 16, Killed by Soldier

Kaduna soldier kills minor during protest...

Nigerian Army soldier fatally shoots 16-year-old protester Ismail Mohammed during #EndBadGovernance protest in Zaria, Kaduna State, contradicting police claims of no live bullets used.

Tragedy struck on Tuesday, August 6, during the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest in Zaria, Kaduna State, when a Nigerian Army soldier fatally shot 16-year-old Ismail Mohammed. The incident occurred in the Samaru community, where protesters had gathered to demonstrate against bad governance.

In a statement released on Tuesday, August 6, Major General Onyeama Nwachukwu, Director of Army Public Relations, confirmed the unfortunate incident. According to Nwachukwu, the soldier's actions were in response to a distress call to disperse a group of hoodlums who were burning tyres and attacking security personnel in Samaru. The situation escalated, resulting in the regrettable death of the young protester.

Major General Onyeama Nwachukwu explained that the situation escalated when the mob attempted to attack the troops, prompting a soldier to fire a warning shot to disperse the crowd. Unfortunately, the warning shot resulted in the tragic death of 16-year-old Ismail Mohammed.

The Army spokesman confirmed that the soldier responsible for the fatal shot has been taken into custody and is currently being questioned as part of an investigation into the incident.

The statement read, “On August 6, 2024, troops of the Nigerian Army received a distress call that some hoodlums gathered in Samaru in large numbers, burning tyres on the road and pelting stones at 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 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 is undergoing interrogation as of the time of this report.

“Saddened by the unfortunate incident, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, has sent a high- powered delegation led by the General Officer Commanding 1 Division, Maj Gen Lander Saraso, to visit and condole with the family of the deceased.

“The deceased was buried according to Islamic rites with senior military officers of the Nigerian Army in attendance.”

In an earlier statement on Tuesday, August 6, Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun claimed that the police, military, and other agencies involved in managing the #EndBadGovernance protest did not use live bullets during the demonstrations, contradicting the subsequent report of a fatal shooting by a soldier.

Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun made this revelation during a high-level meeting with heads of various security agencies in Abuja.

He said, “The police and the military and indeed no other security agency involved in the management of this protest have not deployed excessive use of force.

“Instead, what we had were attacks on security agents during the protest.

“From our record, there were no shooting incidents by the police.

“The police or military did not use any live ammunition in the management of these protests.

“Instead, we have had cases where our officers were injured and are in critical condition as we speak

“I will dismiss that as fake news and very wrong allegations. We didn't use excessive force at all.

“We didn't even deploy the whole of our strength in this protest even when it turned violent.

“We have water cannons we did not deploy, we have rubber bullets, we didn't use. All that we have used is teargas and nothing more.”