Slain NYSC Member’s Father says Soldiers Told Him the Killing was a Mistake

Sani Jimoh, father of the late Abdulsamad Jamiu, a serving National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member killed by soldiers of the guards brigade quick response force in Dei-Dei, Shagari Estate, Abuja, says military operatives told him his son’s death was a mistake.

In a statement, the guards brigade headquarters had said Jamiu was caught in a crossfire on April 25 when troops responded to a distress call from residents reportedly under attack by armed robbers.

“Upon arrival, the troops came under gunfire from the fleeing armed robbers, resulting in a brief but intense exchange,” the statement reads.

On Monday, a delegation of the Nigerian Army visited the family to offer their condolences and inspect the scene of the incident.

However, the family of the deceased has rejected the military’s account of the incident, arguing that “physical evidence disproves an exchange of gunfire.”

The family further said their son was killed at about 2am on Saturday when military personnel entered the estate.

Speaking with TheCable on Monday during a visit to the family home in Dei Dei, Jimoh said he and his wife were away in Kogi state attending his mother’s funeral when they received a distress call from his daughter around 2 am on Saturday, informing him of what happened.

Jimoh added that he spoke with military operatives who told him the incident occurred while pursuing suspected armed robbers.

The bereaved father said the soldiers claimed they noticed signs of forced entry into the compound and entered the house, believing suspects had fled inside.

“They said that they were pursuing a thief, but they couldn’t see the thief, so they went through the back and saw that the barbed wire was altered, and they thought someone had jumped through it inside my compound,” he said.

“I asked how they gained entrance into the main house, and they said that it seemed the door was not locked.

“And when you gained access into the main house, they were trying to open the door (Samad’s room), and somebody was there trying to block them from opening the door, and what happened now happened.”

Jimoh said he questioned how the situation escalated into a fatal shooting inside a locked room, but the soldiers said it was a mistake.

“They said that Oga calm down and it was a mistake,” he said.

According to him, the divisional police officer of the Deidei police station described the incident as an unfortunate and careless error.

The civil engineer said the police authorities asked him to submit a written statement and an undertaking before the body of his son was released for burial.

‘I WAS THREATENED, TOLD TO SHUT UP’

Jamiu Farida, the late Samad’s sister, who witnessed the incident, said she was jolted awake by gunshots and was later dragged by soldiers.

Farida said she was persuaded to leave her room by three soldiers to confirm that a window had been damaged before the incident.

“I pleaded with them that if I get down, they should not harm me,” she said.

“They asked me to come outside, and they took me outside to show me a broken barbed wire that was more damaged than it was before.

“They also showed me a broken window. They asked me whether this window was like that. I said, yes.”

Farida said she thought the officers would inform her that Samad had escaped, but on a forceful entry into the room, her brother was in a pool of blood.

“I thought they wanted to tell me that my brother escaped. I wanted to go into my brother’s room, but they dragged me, and I struggled with them until I discovered that my brother was dead and part of his brain was beside him on the floor,” she told The Cable.

“I was just screaming, and I ran back outside. And one of the soldiers was threatening me and asked me to shut up.”

She said some neighbours trooped in at the wee hour after the incident, before the police came, and their house was locked.

“The soldiers called the vigilantes to clean the blood, and they did. They also packed his brain and buried it in the house close by.”

‘THEY SHOT THE DOOR TWICE’

Abubakar Habiba, mother of the deceased, said she travelled to Okene when the incident happened, adding that attempts to call her son failed while relatives initially withheld details of the incident.

“I was not around; I travelled on Thursday, hoping to come back on Saturday to meet my son at home. Only for me to receive a call from my neighbour around 2:30,” she said.

“She called me to say that she was hearing gunshots and asked if there was no problem, and I told her that I wasn’t around.”

Habiba maintained that the late Samad was shot after responding to the loud banging on his door, adding that the military operatives summoned local vigilantes and instructed them to clean bloodstains using items taken from the family’s kitchen after the shooting.

“I don’t know; maybe he woke up from sleep and was trying to find out who was there, and they shot him,” she said.

“They shot the door twice. According to what I saw, they said that after doing that, the soldiers called two vigilantes around the area to come and mop up the blood.”

“They entered my kitchen, took detergent and a bucket, and gave the vigilantes instructions to move the blood.”

Meanwhile, Yusuf Enesi, one of the late Samad’s friends, said there had not been an account of violence in the estate until the soldiers started harassing community members three weeks ago.

Enesi described Samad as a peaceful person, adding that they had played table tennis together the previous day.

“We had spent Friday night with Samad. We hung out at a centre; he co-managed a game hub,” Enesi said.

“He played all manner of games, tennis, chess, and snooker, and I think his last game was a tennis game before we left, and I woke up to the call in the early hours of Saturday that he was shot in his room.”

Enesi said that the perpetrators had imposed a curfew in the area despite the absence of crises in the area.