How soldiers tortured my son to death over girlfriend
Malam Yahaya said that on the fateful day, a soldier had led his colleagues to the shop of Ahmad’s uncle in Unguwar Sanusi from where they took him away to Bakin Ruwa, where he was killed. Yahaya who is a retired non-military staff of the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, said the soldiers tied […]
Malam Yahaya said that on the fateful day, a soldier had led his colleagues to the shop of Ahmad’s uncle in Unguwar Sanusi from where they took him away to Bakin Ruwa, where he was killed.
Yahaya who is a retired non-military staff of the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, said the soldiers tied his son before they killed him.
“I was not there when they arrested him but hours later, I was invited by the soldiers to their base at Bakin Ruwa. As I approached I could hear my son crying and when I got there I saw him tied with a rope like a goat. They tied his legs and hands; they were beating him even in my presence and when I enquired the offence he committed I was told that the girlfriend of a solider gave him the handset her soldier boyfriend bought for her. It was after some time I realised that my son too was befriending the girl.
“So I begged them to release him but the soldiers were instead asking my son to seek for forgiveness from me. I told them that he has not committed any offence to seek for pardon from me. But when I realised the way they were treating him, I quickly told them that I have forgiven him. They now said I should go but I pleaded that they should allow him to follow me but they refused,” he said.
He said as he was leaving the base, Ahmad son was crying that they would kill him if he left him with them.
“The following day, the soldiers told me that my son has been taken to the headquarters of the 1 Division. One of their seniors at the office asked me to take them to my house, a soldier in plain cloth followed me and when we got to my house, he left without telling me anything. Around 3pm, the soldiers led by one Colonel Abdullahi came back and they started preaching. I became apprehensive and asked them what the matter was. They now told me that my son was dead.
“The colonel now begged that we should allow them to bury my son that they will give him a befitting burial. My wife who was inside the house overheard them and jump out in tears. We insisted that they must bring the corpse,” he said.
“The soldiers left and returned two hours later with vans. They brought the corpse of my son. They deployed their men to our entire street because the youth in the area had trooped out to protest the killing. We pleaded with the youth and the prayer was performed on the corpse. He was buried around 7pm that day.”
After two days, he said the military authority came back and handed N100,000 to him.
“I want the soldiers who killed my son to be brought to book and military authority to pay compensation for the killing in line with Islamic injunctions. I know we will all die one day but the way the soldiers gruesomely killed my son is worrisome,” he said.
Narrating how the soldiers arrested the deceased, his uncle, Adamu Mohammed (70), said the soldiers used guns to scare people away when they came to arrest his nephew.
“I was in my shop when three soldiers came in a Golf car and they said they were looking for my nephew. When they saw him, they threw him into the boot of the car.
When I approached them one of them pointed his gun at me and threatened to shoot me. So I and other people became confused and just watched them. Soon, the soldiers removed their uniforms and zoomed off in the car,” he said.
“You know, I was the one that bathed him and I noticed that he was,” he said.
According to him, the incident happened few weeks ago but that the military authority warned them not to speak to press on the matter.
Contacted on phone, the spokesperson of the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, confirmed the incident, saying they have commenced investigation on the matter to bring the perpetrators to book.
“The fact was that there was misunderstanding over a stolen Nokia phone worth N10,000 but regardless of the circumstances, the soldiers were absolutely wrong because it was not their job to do that. They acted on their own. They have been arrested and are detained. Investigation is on. At the end of the investigation, they will be arraigned before a military court. I’m assuring you, any of the soldiers found wanting in the case will not be spared,” he said.
Another military source told our correspondent that the military police investigating the case have completed their report and that the soldiers would be court martialed.
Meanwhile, a Kaduna-based nongovernmental organisation, Network for Justice, yesterday disclosed its intention to offer free legal services to the family of the slain boy. Legal adviser of the group, Barrister Sadau Garba said they have decided to take over the case in order to ensure that the soldiers faced full wrath of the law.
“We have taken over the case because of the way and manner the boy was killed by the soldiers. I have visited the military authority at the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army. I was told that the military police have concluded their report on the case. We will continue to monitor it so that justice will prevail on the matter.
“Soldiers are no longer needed on the streets of Kaduna because of the relative peace we are enjoying now and this is why they are leaving their duty posts to unleash terror on innocent persons. They should be immediately withdrawn and return back to the barracks where they rightfully belong,” he said.