Christian Konor Ehime, a young man from Edo State, was allegedly slain by troops stationed at a railway crossing in Igbanke.

Konor is claimed to have been assaulted by soldiers shortly after escaping kidnappers’ clutches.

His mother, Ehima Mercy, a police officer in Agbor, Delta State, said she discovered her son in a bad state on a dirt road where the troops had abandoned him.

He later died at a hospital, she told the Foundation for Investigative Journalism.

Konor had left the residence of a cousin on December 10 for a journey to his mother’s house that should have taken 35 minutes. He, on the other hand, had a hard time getting a bus around 5 p.m. at the bus stop. Around 7.30 p.m., his mother dialed his phone, only to hear a stranger’s voice.

“I asked them, ‘Who are you?’ And they claimed to be soldiers stationed at the railway checkpoint between Igbanke and Epon. I introduced myself as a police officer and I asked them where my son was,” she narrated

“The soldiers did not say they had beaten him but claimed my son had dragged their guns with them (to struggle to take possession). I began to plead with the soldiers not to touch him. Then they asked me to come and see them.”

She claimed she went to see the soldiers who showed her where her kid has being.

She said, “When I saw my son, dust was all over him. So one may not recognise him. He was only in his boxers. They did not give me his trousers; I knew it was because they wanted to tell a different story to the police.”

Konor’s legs were broken and his spine was severely injured, according to FIJ. He couldn’t get up to meet his mother because of his injuries. According to the Foundation, the troops claimed he showed signs of insanity.

She said, “Seeing how my son was, I pleaded with them to use their van to take him to a nearby hospital, but they refused because I am a police officer. I immediately called my family doctor, who then took another hour before he got to Igbanke.

“I looked at my son and every part of his body was covered with clay. He was half-conscious and his eyes were dim. He was heavy. I then pleaded again with the soldiers to lend us their van.”

“Konor said when he found out he was in a kidnapper’s bus, he jumped out of the moving vehicle and hid in a bush. He texted ‘I love you mummy’ at this point, but I didn’t get it because I was cooking. When he saw a snake, he ran out of the bush and saw some soldiers,” she said.

Konor’s plea for food at the hospital was denied by the doctor, who informed his mother that he was suffering from internal bleeding.

She also revealed what her son had told her about the kidnappers’ ordeal.

“He said he ran to the soldiers, but on seeing him, they cocked their guns. He attempted to explain, but he was asked to shut his mouth up and lie on the ground.”

She claimed that the soldiers later told him to stand up and that as he was standing, one of them kicked his legs, followed by others, until he was unable to walk.

“After he said this, he died. The time was 2:47 am on Saturday,” Mercy who reported the incident at Igbanke Police Station said.

“One of them said I knew my son was crazy, and that was why I brought milk to the checkpoint. Another soldier said I knew he was a lunatic because I asked my family doctor if he came to the checkpoint with injections,” Mercy said.

“I thought the injections would make him stronger and the milk would give him strength, but the soldiers used it against me because he was no more alive.”

“The worst thing is, these soldiers are still at this checkpoint,” she said

The Edo State Commissioner of Police, Philip Aliyu Ogbadu, has written to the army about the event, she said.

“Let her write to the military police in the state,” Onyema Nwachukwu, the Army Spokesman said to FIJ.

“The fact that she is a police officer has solved half of the issue. The army does not support bad behavior; it is punished.”