Tobias Sylvester
A fruit vendor, Abdulkadir Musa, has been shot dead by a Nigerian soldier because he refused to give him a free bunch of banana in Gusau, Zamfara State.
According to Punch, the deceased father, Alhaji Mustafa Musa, said the incident happened on Sunday after two soldiers went to his son’s fruits stand and purchased a bunch of bananas.
The soldiers were said to have paid for the banana bunch they want, but tried to collect another one for free and this led to a squabble with the fruit vendor.
“They bought a bunch bananas for N300 and instead of them to take the one they paid for, they also took another one and wanted to go with it, but my son did not allow them to do so.
“When they insisted that they must go with the bunch of bananas, the fruit vendor rushed to the police station, which was very close to the scene of the incident, and reported the case and the two soldiers were arrested, but they were released shortly after.”
Mustafa added that immediately the soldiers were released, one of them went home, fetched a gun and returned to the scene and shot the fruit vendor.
“My son was shot in the back and we took him to the Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital, but unfortunately, he lost his life,” Mustafa said.
The father added that he reported the issue to all relevant authorities, including the Human Rights Commission, so that action could be taken against the soldier, who killed his son.
“I have reported the case to the concerned authorities and I will not rest until the soldier is punished to serve as a deterrent to others,” Mustafa added.
When contacted, the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Mohammed Shehu, said: “we are investigating the issue.”
KanyiDaily had also reported how some Nigerian soldiers killed five youths who were returning from a wedding ceremony in Taraba State.
