A video making the rounds on social media showed the teenage boy lying in the pool of his own blood, allegedly shot dead by an operative of the Nigeria Police Force.
The Nigeria Police Force, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command has denied the killing of a teenage boy in the Kubwa area of the Abuja on Saturday during the third day of the ongoing nationwide hunger protest.
A video making the rounds on social media showed the teenage boy lying in the pool of his own blood, allegedly shot dead by an operative of the Nigeria Police Force.
In the video, another teenage boy said that though the deceased was not part of the protesters, he said the police had pointed a gun at him and the deceased before shooting at the deceased.
Asked if the deceased was part of protesters, the witness who spoke in Pidgin language, said, “No, it is me and the boy that they first pointed the gun at after they beat us. They showed us the gun.
“This boy was just coming from the other side. He didn't even know what was happening. They pointed a gun at us as the boy was coming.”
However, reacting to the incident, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, said that the deceased was not killed by police officers, adding that the FCT Commissioner of Police, CP Benneth C. Igweh, had ordered an immediate investigation into the remote cause of the teenager's death.
The police spokesperson in a statement said, “In response to the video footage making the rounds alleging the killing of a yet-to-be identified teenager by police operatives in Kubwa by Zenith Bank while protesting on August 3rd, 2024, the FCT police command thereby debunks the allegations, stating that its operatives are not responsible for the killing of the teenager, as the operatives deployed to the axis were not issued lethal arms but only with anti-riot equipment not capable of occasioning the death of the teenager.
“In light of the rather infuriated incident, the commissioner of police, FCT, CP Benneth C. Igweh, psc, mni, has ordered that an immediate investigation be conducted to ascertain the remote cause of death of the deceased, calling on well-meaning residents to provide the command with necessary information to aid the investigation.
“While expressing profound condolences to the family of the bereaved, he assures the family and public of swift justice, as effort is ongoing to apprehend the perpetrators of the unfortunate incident.
“Also, the command is aware of the antics of mischief makers who may want to exploit the current situation in the country to spread false information with the aim at misleading and causing apprehension in the populace; it therefore calls on residents to shun such misinformation, as the command is committed to ensuring the security and safety of all and sundry.”