Police investigate death of officer killed by soldier over Indian hemp
The Borno State Police Command has said it is investigating a case involving a soldier who allegedly shot dead a policeman, Sgt Ahmed Ali, who intercepted his vehicle carrying a substance believed to be Indian hemp.
The incident reportedly happened at an entry checkpoint at Benishek, Kaga Local Government Area of the state on Monday, when the soldiers in the vehicle, an Acura Sport Utility Vehicle, were driven by one Sgt. U Joseph, would not subject themselves to a proper check.
When contacted by The PUNCH, the acting spokesman for the Borno State Police Command, ASP Nahum Daso, confirmed the incident on Wednesday noting that the command was investigating it.
“We are still investigating; because of the sensitivity of the case, we have to investigate thoroughly”, Daso said, adding that, “hopefully, we will conclude the investigation Wednesday, April 19, and will address the press hopefully Thursday, April 20.”
He said, “The issue is highly sensitive, and it involves a lot of ambiguities. We have to be very careful and thorough in the investigation duty given the sensitivity involved.”
According to a Daily Trust report, local and security sources said the refusal of the soldiers to stop at the checkpoint prompted the police team to shoot at the vehicle’s tyre, which forced the driver to stop; but in an effort to drive the vehicle to the Benisheikh police station, Sgt Ali was shot dead by the soldiers.
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“The soldier carrying the Indian hemp, identified as Sgt U. Joseph, along with his other colleagues, tried to stop the Crack Squad from confiscating the vehicle, which led to the shooting and Ali, who was reversing with the vehicle, got killed by the bullet,” one of the security sources revealed.
It was gathered that the suspect is currently under the custody of the military while the vehicle is parked at the Benisheik police station.
A source from the military described the shooting as a mistake as a soldier named Ibrahim Waberi fired at the vehicle in an attempt to stop it from being moved by the deceased.
“His shot mistakenly hit the deceased but the accused soldier is in custody for investigation,” he said.
All efforts by The PUNCH to get the reaction of the military on the incident proved abortive as the calls put through to the mobile number of the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu were not picked as of the time of the report.
