Security operatives attached to a Special Security Outfits, ‘OP MESA’, yesterday, killed an SS 2 student of Unity High School, Ago Ika area of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The student, simply identified as Sadiat, was hit by bullets by one of the OP MESA operatives, whose direct shot missed the target, but hit the 17-years old girl walking out of the school premises after finishing her examination for the day.
Vanguard reliably gathered that the OP MESA operatives were chasing a suspected internet fraudster, popularly known as”yahoo boys,” who ran into the area in an attempt to escape arrest.
In the process of hacking him down, the security operatives allegedly shot directly at him without taking into consideration, the presence of the students coming out of the school premises and other passersby.
Sadiat, the only daughter of her mother, was pronounced “dead on arrival” at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Idi Aba, Abeokuta, where she was rushed to for treatment, while three other students and a commercial motorcyclist were also hit by stray bullets fired by the operatives.
Sadiat’s colleagues, who were infuriated by the development went to Enu-Gada Police Post in the area to protest the death of their colleagues.
The students were said to have started throwing stones, broken bottles and other objects they could lay their hands on when the most senior police officer on duty gave a directive that the students should be forcefully dispersed.
The security operatives’ reinforcement, which arrived at Enu Gada Police Post, however, allegedly fuelled the tension, consequent upon which the students were eventually dispersed, while passersby were indiscriminately arrested for either fuelling the riot or filming the scene of the crisis.
Speaking with newsmen, an SS 1 student of the school, Rafiu Ibrahim, alleged that the security operatives shot directly at the students without regard for their safety, even when it was obvious that they were in school uniform.
When contacted, the command’s Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, who confirmed the incident, however, denied knowledge of the death of the student.
Oyeyemi, who disclosed that a Police Inspector (name not disclosed) was macheted on the head, further said the security operatives were not chasing any “yahoo boy” but a notorious cultist, who had been on the wanted list of the police.
He explained that residents of the area colluded with the suspected cultist and attempted to prevent the security operatives from performing their lawful duty, hence the need to deploy minimum force to scare the people away.
Vanguard
