Hunger protest: We have arrested personnel for shooting dead 16-yr-old protester -Nigerian Army

 

The Nigerian Army has admitted that its personnel shot dead a 16-year-old protester during the ongoing EndBadGovernance protest in Kaduna State.

 

This is in spite of the claim by kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector General of Police, that no live ammunition was fired at protesters.

 

Onyema Nwachukwu the Army spokesperson in a statement, confirmed the killing, adding that personnel involved had since been arrested.

 

The deceased protester, identified as Ismail Mohammed, was reportedly gunned by the soldier on Tuesday.

 

Troops of the Nigerian Army had stormed Samaru community in Zaria to disperse the protesters in line with the curfew earlier imposed on the area by the state governor, Uba Sani when the shooting incident occurred.

 

The statement read: “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 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.”

The ongoing nationwide protests have taken a violent turn in some parts of the country since 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.