WANTED! Army hunts soldier accused of killing fruit seller over N300 bananas

The Nigerian Army said it is searching for one of its soldiers who allegedly killed a fruit seller over N300 banana and water melon in Zamfara state.

The army in a release on Tuesday vowed to bring the erring soldier to justice but failed to disclose the identity of the alleged shooter.

The soldier reportedly shot Abdulkadir Musa, a fruit seller in Gusau, for refusing to allow him to go away with his fruits without paying for them.

The father of the deceased, Alhaji Mustafa Musa, had stated that two soldiers went to his son’s fruits stand on Sunday and purchased a bunch of bananas.

According to him, when the soldiers paid for the bunch, they tried to collect another one for free and this led to a squabble.

“They bought a bunch of bananas for N300 and instead of them to take the one they paid for, they also took another one and wanted to go with it, but my son did not allow them to do so,” he said.

“When they insisted that they must go with the fruits, the vendor rushed to the police station, which was very close to the scene of the incident and reported the case.

“The soldiers were arrested but were released shortly after.”

Mustafa added that immediately the soldiers were released, one of them went home, fetched a gun and returned to the scene and shot the fruit vendor.

“My son was shot in the back and we took him to the Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital, but unfortunately, he lost his life,” Mustafa said.

The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig Gen Mohammed Yerima, in a release, said, “The army wishes to state that the sad incident is quite regrettable and it condoles with the family of the deceased.

“It is worthy of note that the General Officer Commanding 8 Division, Maj Gen Usman Yusuf, has since commissioned an investigation to unravel the circumstances that led to the altercations which eventually claimed one life as efforts are ongoing to arrest the perpetrator.

“The army wishes to state clearly that, the alleged perpetrator, once identified will be subjected to a thorough investigation and if found wanting, will be made to face the full wrath of the law in accordance with extant provisions.”