Community Accuses Military Of Killing Son Over Curfew Time Violation

Residents of Bundigari community in Damaturu, Yobe State, have accused the military of killing one Ibrahim Bala for allegedly violating curfew time. 

The residents have been living under stick restriction for over three years now, as a result of the ceaseless attacks by the Boko Haram militants in Nigeria’s north-east region.

Briefing reporters on Sunday at the Damaturu Specialists Hospital, where the corpse of the deceased was deposited, the spokesman of Bundigari community, Ali Useini, lamented that the decease alongside six others were arrested for allegedly violating curfew rule, only to release them with various degrees of torture.

Tortured Overnight

At the time Channels Television visited the hospital, one of those arrested was on a sick bed with fractured leg while the remaining five were being treated for various degrees of injuries.

Mr Useini said there were some misunderstandings between some youths around 9:30pm on Saturday, stressing that someone in the vicinity made a phone call to alert soldiers on the happenings leading to the arrest of the seven persons who were detained and tortured overnight.

He said soldiers stormed the area some hours after the misunderstanding, making series of arrest in houses.

As the community seeks justice to the matter, the spokesman of the 27 Task Force Brigade, Lieutenant George Okupe, said the soldiers on patrol received a distress call and acted swiftly leading to the arrest of the seven persons.

He confirmed that they were released on Sunday morning but denied knowledge of any death. He told  reporters that the commander had set up an investigation team to find out the true position of the matter and pledged to make the report of the investigation team public.

The military had recently issued a strong warning to Yobe residents on violation of curfew hours and threatened to deal decisively with violators.

The concern of the community was that those arrested for alleged violation of curfew hours should not have been tortured to the point of death, a fractured leg and several injuries by the soldiers.

They asked authorities concerned to look into the issue to ensure the existing synergy between security forces and the community in the fight against insurgency would  not be hampered.