From Beatrice GONDYI, Bauchi
Abdulsalam Ibrahim a 21-year-old undergraduate student of Political Science, Bauchi State University, was mercilessly and extra-judicially murdered by vigilantes (popularly known as Yan Committee) at Zango ward of Bauchi State.
The deceased was killed when his mother, Aisha Ibrahim, reported him to the vigilante requesting them to discipline the young man on account of some domestic disorderly behaviour.
Neighbours’ accounts suggest that the vigilantes exhausted their anger while punishing the 300 level student; an omen that sends him packing to the great beyond.
According to a close neighbour of the family, Malam Adamu Ningi who spoke to our reporter saying, “it was at the instance of the mother that the vigilantes took her son to their office and tortured the boy to death.
“The mother accused the son of pilfering her fabric that is estimated to cost not less than 3000 naira.
“It was a sad day for us, especially looking at the circumstance that led to the death of late Abdulsalam. Parents should always endeavour to settle matters at home.
“Taking your child to outsiders for disciplinary measures because of small mistakes is not a solution. Every household has its own peculiar domestic problems.
“I don’t think the mother will ever forgive herself for allowing her anger to make her take such an irrational decision that has cost her family the loss of a promising young man,” Malam Ningi said.
Another neighbour who pleaded anonymity also disclosed that even the mother is of questionable character.
“The mother is a crook, times without number she was caught stealing in markets. She steals even bread from provision shops.
“Because of sheer wickedness, the vigilantes sent a message to her that due to the torture, her son soiled his clothes with faeces.
“She did not even bother to go and see the level of the torture, but only sent another set of clothes for them. I don’t know why that woman is yet to be arrested,” the neighbour said.
Also, an eyewitness account of how the vigilantes tortured the victim has it that, the young man was hit on the head with a bamboo stick, his fingernails forcefully removed and beaten to a state of coma that he never woke up from.
It was also gathered that the torture of the deceased happened in the presence of the Ward Head of Zango, a suburb within Bauchi metropolis.
It was gathered that the first member of the vigilante that hit the head of the late Abdulsalam is the son of the ward head.
Confirming the incident, DSP Ahmed Mohammed Wakil, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Bauchi State Police Command said, it was a case of culpable homicide, saying that three suspects have been apprehended.
“The principal suspect is one Adamu Babayo. The other two suspects are Sani Babayo and one Abubakar. One other suspect is still at large,” Wakil said.
All efforts by our correspondence to contact the father of the boy, Alhaji Ibrahim, a driver with the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University to know his reactions proved abortive.
It was also gathered that prior to the gruesome murder of the victim, there have been several complaints on the method of operation adopted by the vigilantes in carrying out their community policing.
The general agreement is that the vigilantes (Yan Committee) seem to be carrying out jungle justice on their victims.
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