The death of Ismail Muhammad, a 16-year-old boy who was allegedly shot by troops on the first day of the national hunger protest, has thrown the Samaru community in Kaduna State’s Soba Local Government Area into mourning.
The mood at the community and the deceased teenagers home was filled with melancholy.
Muhammad Abubakar, the deceased’s elder brother and an eyewitness, informed reporters that Ismail, a fashion designer and JSS 3 student at the Government Secondary School Samaru in Zaria, was shot within their compound in Samaru, a suburb of the city.
Speaking on how the tragedy happened, Abubakar said, “We were all outside, including some of our neighbours, watching what was happening when we saw a soldier in our area. Everybody ran inside; I was the last person to enter the house, and I locked the door.
“Later, I heard two gunshots, and then my second sibling, Usman Muhammad, shouted that soldiers had killed Ismail. I went to the door and peeped. There, I confirmed that Ismail was shot, but I could not go to where he was. The soldier fired another shot at the door.”
Abubakar stated that after the soldiers left the area, “some of our neighbours came knocking at the door.”
“I opened the door, and I saw that he (Ismail) was shot in the throat and in the back, around his spinal cord.
“I carried him and started rushing to the hospital. On our way, I saw two soldiers, and while I was telling them they killed my kid brother, some soldiers stationed around the market square came with a Hilux van and nearly hit us, but I crossed a gutter and left Ismail’s body there. After then, I don’t know what happened again,” Abubakar stated.
He added that Ismail was home and never participated in the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protest.
“We’re calling on the government to ensure justice and fairness for Ismail, who was brutally killed,” the brother said.
The Emir of Zaria, Alhaji Nuhu Bamalli, visited the family of the victim.
“We have talked about this already, that virtually everybody in this country is aware of the harsh economy.
“Protest that’ll lead to vandalism of people’s property and loss of life is what we’re running away from. Everybody is disturbed by the sad incident coupled with the banditry activities. Our farms are not accessible because of bandits, and these bad incidents are happening virtually every day,” the Emir lamented.
He urged locals to work with security forces to prevent bad elements from infiltrating their areas under the guise of protest.
The Emir also praised the Nigerian Army for establishing a commission of inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding Ismail’s death and bring justice to the deceased and his family.
