A retired Army officer, Major Mohammed Isah Tafoki, has accused military authorities in Kaduna, NorthWest Nigeria of trying to cover up the killing of his nephew allegedly perpetrated by soldiers at a road block on Kaduna- Abuja highway.
The incident, according to the ex- military officer, occurred on the 6th of January when the slain nephew Akilu Tafoki “met his untimely death in the hands of soldiers”.
The rtd Major is therefore asking the authorities to release the corpse of his slain nephew for proper burial, having gone round hospitals in and around Kaduna as well as nearby forests closed to the road block without locating the corpse.
Major Mohammed Tafoki who was briefing the Press on Monday gave account of what transpired.
That on January 6, 2019, a member of the family called to inform him that there was a casualty that his nephew, Akilu Tafoki, just died of gunshot wounds.
Major Tafoki, said his late nephew was a farmer in Tafoki in Katsina State, and that during dry season, he migrates to Abuja for commercial motorcycle business.
According to him, they were on their way to Abuja in the company of four motorcycles, each carrying a passenger. And as they approached Sabon Gaya along the Abuja Expressway, they bumped into a roadblock mounted by soldiers who were later identified as personnel of 1 Division Garrison.
Major Tafoki further explained that without any word of caution, the soldiers were alleged to have opened fire on the cyclists, and in the process, late Akilu who was a passenger on one of the motorcycles was hit and fell down.
“I was informed that my late nephew was abandoned in his pool of blood, while the other cyclist who was carrying him was taken to a filing station “.
“Later on the return of the cyclist to the scene of the incident, I was informed, the cyclist enquired from the soldiers of Akilu, whom the soldiers claimed to have been deposited at New Wuse General Hospital.
“Immediately I received the message, I drove down to the roadblock, but the soldiers kept mute even after I identified myself as a retired Major.
“This prompted me to drive down to the 1 Division Garrison in Kaduna to formally lay a complaint where a senior officer told me to come back the next day with an eyewitness, promising that the boys on roadblock on the said day would be recalled back to the office for identification.
“The second day, the soldiers were paraded amidst other colleagues and my witness who was the cyclist carrying the victim was able to identify three of them. They were later moved away.
“Surprisingly, the senior military officer said my nephew was not killed by any of his men and the corpse is not with them. Even though they accepted earlier on that his body was deposited at the New Wuse General Hospital,” he narrated.
Major Tafoki therefore, passionately pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari and the Chief of Army Staff, (COAS), General Tukur Buratai to intervene in the matter and ensure that the corpse is released to the family for a befitting burial.
However, the military has refuted the allegation made against its troops deployed, saying there was disconnect in the complainant statement.
Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Muhammad Adole in a statement said “rifles of the soldiers were checked and nothing unusual was detected since their rifles were not used for firing”, the statement said.
