A man identified as Abdulkadir Musa, a fruit vendor in Gusau, Zamfara State capital, has been shot dead by a gunman suspected to be a soldier for refusing to allow the attacker to go away with his bunch of bananas without paying for it.
The father of the deceased, identified as Alhaji Mustafa Musa, told News Naija that two soldiers went to his son’s fruit stand on Sunday and purchased a bunch of bananas.
According to the deceased father, when the soldiers paid for the bunch, they tried to collect another one for free and this led to an argument.
Mustafa stated, “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.
“When they insisted that they must go with the bunch of bananas, the fruit vendor rushed to the police station, which was very close to the scene of the incident, and reported the case, and the two soldiers were arrested, but they 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.
Mustafa said “My son was shot in the back and we took him to the Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital, but unfortunately, he lost his life,” adding that he reported the issue to all relevant authorities, including the Human Rights Commission, so that action could be taken against the soldier, who killed his son.
In his statement, he said “I have reported the case to the concerned authorities and I will not rest until the soldier is punished to serve as a deterrent to others,” Mustafa added.
Meanwhile, SP Mohammed Shehu, the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, told News Naija that the command was investigating the incident.
Shehu said “We are investigating the issue,”