Student Shot Dead By Soldier At Military Checkpoint

A soldier at a military checkpoint along Katsina-Dustin-Ma road, Batagarawa council area of Katsina State shot dead one Umar Ali Dodo, a 22-year-old student of the Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic, Katsina, when the driver of a vehicle carrying the student tried to overtake a truck at the checkpoint.

An official of the National Road Transport Owners (NARTO) said Dodo was travelling to Minna, Niger State and the driver, Rabiu Ras, tried overtaking the truck without realising that there was a military check point a few meters away.
He added that there was no sign indicating the presence of a checkpoint and Ras could not have known that there were soldiers standing by the truck. The FRSC official who requested not to be named said one of the soldiers shot at the vehicle as it overtook the truck.

But spokesman of Joint Task Force (JTF) Captain Ikediechi Iweha said the driver of the vehicle was ordered to stop but he refused and the soldiers became suspicious. Iweha, who added that his soldiers were on a stop and search instruction, said more checkpoints have been set up along major roads to ensure that criminal movement is restricted, especially during the festive season.  He said the driver and vehicle are in custody and investigation into the matter is underway.  Source: Daily Trust Newspaper