HAYAN BANKI YOUTH SLUMPS AND DIES IN KADUNA AIR FORCE BASE

KADUNA: Tension was recently doused and civil protest averted  in Hayan Banki, a community in Kaduna North local Government Council of the state following the alleged killing of a youth, by some personnel of the Nigeria Air Force from the Air Force Base, Kaduna in what has been described as a case of mistaken identity and over zealousness.

According to reports, the deceased youth simply identified as Abdulsalam Samaila, was arrested on Friday, 27^th July alongside some other youths who, according to Ahmed Hassan, who is a resident of the community and one of the youth leaders, worked as casual labourers in the Base.

The deceased, Abdulsalam  Samaila

Speaking with NAIJ NEWS ALERT, Ahmed Hassan disclosed that the officers from the Air Force Base had, following investigation of a reported “burglary” in one of their residences, received a report that the said identified youths were the culprits and had swooped on the youths in the community to effect their arrest and in the process, also picked up the deceased among the suspects, to their Base.

“The boys broke into one of the houses and stole some items which are yet to be known. The Air Force officers knew these boys and where they reside in our community and they came to arrest them”.

“On arrival here, the officers arrested all the boys in that vicinity, including the deceased but he was not among the workers neither is he among those that was involved in the crime. They were all interrogated and, those who committed the crime confessed to their crime and returned the stolen items back to the Air Force officers”.

“In the process of their investigation and interrogation, the boys were reportedly beaten with the deceased suffering serious injuries. His head became seriously swollen but the officers did not take him to any hospital or provide any form of treatment to him and later in the night, he died”.

“This morning, the officers from the Air Force Base came and reported the matter to the parents of the boy requesting that they should please be kind to them and receive the corpse of their son from them”.

“The parents of the deceased told the officers from the NAF Base to go, that they (parents) will come to them”.

“However, the community told the parents to just leave the corpse with them because, as far they have said that the boy (Abdulsalam) stole from them and that they are investigating, the parents should also investigate what killed their son”.

Hassan Usman revealed that when the NAF officers came for the arrest towards the evening hours of yesterday, they told the mother of Abdulsalam that “it was a mere fight and they are only investigating to know the reason for the fight. The mother of the deceased told them to let her the true position or, if there is any other thing but they told her there was nothing more, only for her to hear this morning that her son is dead”.

When NAIJ NEWS ALERT sought to know what the community intends to do as regards the incident, Hassan said the community wants the parents to take over the matter which was why they did not collect the corpse from the NAF Officers.

However, information reaching NAIJ NEWS ALERT reveals that NAF has reached out to the families of the deceased through the Command HQ and an amicable settlement has been concluded with the family of the deceased, according to Islamic injunction, including the community leaders and all involved.

Our source has therefore made a passionate appeal that all agreements reached must be complied with.