Officers of the Nigeria Police Mobile unit deployed to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Daudu, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State on Saturday shot dead a pregnant displaced teenager, simply identified as Queen Zoho, who stays in the camp.
New Telegraph newspaper reports that she was killed during a melee that arose from an argument between youths of the area and the policemen.
The deceased was reportedly shot alongside two other men currently in critical condition.
It was gathered that the deceased had been staying in the IDPs camp since the outbreak of the farmers/herdsmen crisis and has since not been able to return to her ancestral home as the Fulani insurgents have taken over their communities.
According to eye-witnesses, the killing which ignited serious tension within and outside the vicinity of the camp, started when a man identified as Ornyiev, conveying a passenger on his motorcycle to a village in Daudu for a wake keep was intercepted by the Mobile Policemen at a roadblock they had mounted.
“On arriving at the roadblock, Ornyiev was flagged down by the Mopol who seized his motorcycle. He (Ornyiev) then called his district head on the telephone to intimate him about what had happened on his way to the burial.
“The district head swiftly sent words that the officers should please pardon the cyclist and release the motorcycle to him.
“As they were talking, the Mopol man started beating Ornyiev. The policeman hit him with his gun butt after he asked why they were maltreating him.
“This attracted onlookers and passers-by and the policeman, in the process, corked his gun and fired shot which killed the pregnant and injured the other two men.”
Mother of the deceased, Mrs Paulina Zoho, told New Telegraph that her daughter had gone to look for water from where she was informed of the police brutality.
Mrs. Zoho disclosed that they were staying in Kogi state but only came home for holidays when they were caught up by the Fulani herdsmen attacks on their community.
She said her husband was not in the state when the incident occurred but was making efforts to contact him.
State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Moses Yamu said he was yet to obtain full details about the killing and promised to provide later. - Daily Post
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