Army Contradicts IGP On Use Of Live Ammunition On Protesters

The Nigerian Army has revealed that one of its soldiers fatally shot a teenager during ongoing protests in Zaria, Kaduna State, contradicting previous police assurances that no live ammunition was used against protestors.

On Tuesday, August 7, during a media briefing in Abuja, Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun firmly denied the use of live bullets, stating, “The police and the military, indeed no other security agency involved in the management of this protest has deployed excessive use of force. 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.”

He added, “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 in the management of this protest is teargas and nothing more.”

However, just 24 hours later, the Nigerian Army confessed that a soldier opened fire on a protester, killing 16-year-old kid Ismail Mohammed. The tragedy happened in Zaria on August 6, 2024.

Army spokesman Onyema Nwachukwu detailed the event, stating, “On 6 August 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 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 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 Mohammed. The soldier involved has since been arrested and is undergoing interrogation as of the time of this report,” Nwachukwu added.

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Nnamdi Okoli