Habiba Abubakar, mother of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member killed in Dei-Dei, Abuja, Abdulsamad Jamiu, has narrated how he lost his life.
Speaking during an interview with TheCable on Monday, she said he was killed by soldiers right inside their home in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
Earlier, the Nigerian Army, through the Headquarters Guards Brigade, had stated that Jamiu died after being caught in crossfire when troops responded to a distress call regarding an armed robbery incident.
Brigade spokesperson, Olawuyi Odunola, said soldiers came under fire from fleeing suspects and that the fatality occurred during the exchange.
However, while recounting what she was told about the incident, Habiba Abubakar alleged that soldiers gained access to the compound by scaling the fence rather than using the gate, moved through the back entrance, and went directly to her son’s room.
“They shot him through the door. They shot the door two times”, she claimed.
She further alleged that after the shooting, soldiers instructed local vigilante members to clean the scene, reportedly retrieving cleaning materials from her kitchen.
“They entered my kitchen, took Klin [detergent], and from there, took a bucket and told the vigilantes to mop up the blood. What happened? Why would they do that?”, she queried.
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Visibly emotional, Abubakar insisted that her son was inside his room at the time of the incident.
“Who did he offend? I want to know. Who did he offend?”, she asked repeatedly.
She also noted that she was away with her husband for a burial ceremony when a neighbour alerted her to gunshots in their area in the early hours of the day.
“I travelled on Thursday, hoping to come back on Saturday to meet my son at home. Only for me to receive a call from my next-door neighbour around 2:30. I said, ‘Hello. I hope there is no problem?’ She said she was hearing gunshots. Fear gripped me”, she recounted.
She said repeated attempts to reach her children were unsuccessful, as her eldest son’s phone was switched off while her daughter’s line was engaged.
When she eventually contacted her husband, she said he initially withheld the full details of the incident.
“Initially, he didn’t want to tell me the actual truth. He said, ‘Soldiers have taken Abdulsamad.’ I said, ‘Soldiers? Abdulsamad? How? For what?’ He said, ‘No, they want to go and interrogate him’”, she said.
Jamiu, 24, was killed in the early hours of 25 April at his family residence in Dei-Dei Shagari Quarters while his parents were away. His sister was reportedly in the house at the time.