Nigerian Army personnel attached to Exercise Crocodile
Smile II allegedly killed one Sadiq Ismaila, 20, and fled with his body
to cover up the crime.
Four others including Paul Abudu and Bridget Afolabi were
injured in the incident which occurred The incident occurred around
1:30pm, at Oniru Block Village, Lekki on Tuesday.
It was gathered that the soldiers, who came in a convoy
comprising three armoured tanks and eight Hilux vans, had on Sunday
stormed the neighbourhood and arrested 76 persons.
According to The Nation, the soldiers shot sporadically,
sending residents and workers scampering to safety. Ismaila, who was
packing blocks in the village, abandoned them on hearing the gunshots.
About 65 of those arrested were handed over to the Maroko
Police Division, which transferred them to the Lagos State Taskforce on
Environment. Others were released at the army barrack where they were
allegedly subjected to hard labour and made to sleep in the open field.
According to a food vendor, Rosaline Adedipe, the soldiers
shoot Ismaila, because he refused to stop when the soldiers ordered him
to do so .
"They shot him on the head. He was packing blocks when the
army men started coming to his direction. People were running and Sadiq
ran too. They told him to stop but he refused. He ran towards the fence
and it was while he was standing by the fence that one of them told the
other one: “Wait! I will kill him”.
“Then, that one fired a shot on his head and Sadiq died on
the spot. By that time, they had arrested four other persons. They now
told the four men to carry his body into their Hilux van and they fled
the area. This is the spot where it happened. See his blood still
showing on the ground, despite that sand was used to cover it up.
“What the army people did was very wrong. Sadiq neither
drank nor smoked. He was just doing his legitimate job and they killed
him like that. Those behind it should be arrested. Let justice be done
for Sadiq.”
Narrating his ordeal, Abudu told The Nation that he was running like others when they saw the soldiers but suddenly fell.
“One of the army men followed me. When I fell, he jumped on
my arm with his boot. I cried and he left me there. That was how I
broke my arm. I am not a criminal. I do not smoke marijuana . I ran
because they were just arresting people anyhow.”
Afolabi, who sustained leg injury, said she fell while running to avoid being victim of indiscriminate arrest.
Afolabi, who sustained leg injury, said she fell while running to avoid being victim of indiscriminate arrest.
He, however admitted that there were some people who indulged in illegal drug abuse.
Reacting to the incident, The Block Village Chairman, Bola
Ekundayo, urged President Buhari and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to probe
Ismaila’s death.
“I know Sadiq very well. He’s a young man from Oyo State.
He just recently finished learning tailoring. He was packing blocks at
the village to save money," he said.
“He neither drank alcohol nor smoked. He was very gentle
and respectful. Most of us here are block makers. This place used to be a
ghetto where they smoked marijuana but the police have flushed most of
them out. So, we renamed it Block Village because we are into block
business. Why did they carry his body away after killing him? Is it not
because they wanted to cover up their crime? When I heard of the
incident, I called the Divisional Police Officer (DCO), Maroko, on phone
and told him but he did not come. We are poor people here. Everyone
here is afraid because no one knows when the army will come again to
cause another trouble.”
Condemning the incident, a lawyer and President, Yoruba
Council of Youths, Aremo Hassan vowed to get justice for Ismaila, adding
that he was already compiling evidence to formerly report the incident.
“I am at the scene. I have spoken to some of the
eyewitnesses and I have also seen the spot where they shot Sadiq. I have
seen his blood-stained clothe. This atrocity must not go unpunished.”
he had said. In a broadcast message, Hassan wrote:
“Please I just got a distress call that men of the Nigerian
Army code named ‘Crocodile Smile 2’ attached to the Epe Army Barracks,
without any provocation have killed one innocent man, Mr. Sodiq Ismail,
20, from Ona Ara Local Government Area in Ibadan, Oyo State.
“The soldiers left with the deceased body in their armoured
vehicles to cover up their atrocities. The incident occurred during
their rampaging show of strength. Kindly alert the whole world of the
evil, injustice and killings committed by them.”
No comments:
Post a Comment