A father of four lost his life in a very sad way on Monday February 3rd 2014 as he was shot over N500 by a soldier attached to OP MESA, a Lagos State security initiative, made up of military personnel.
36-year-old Sunday Samuel was planning to finalise a deal over a piece of land he was planning to buy for his mother when he met his sad end.
His mother, known as Victoria, said that a soldier, identified only as Mohammed, killed her son over N500 around Akere/Alakuko Road, a border area between Lagos and Ogun states.
Victoria recounts the sad ordeal to Punch:
“The Sunday before my son was killed, I saw him on my way from church and he said the children missed me so I promised to visit them the following day. On Monday, February 3, 2014, my son, who is a commercial tricycle operator, called me to say he was on his way to work and he said he would call me later.
“A few hours later, around 11am, I received a call that my son had been shot and killed around Alakuko Road, Agbado. I could not believe it. I rushed down to the scene and saw his lifeless body in a pool of blood.
“When I asked people how it happened, his colleagues told me that a group of soldiers came to a Keke NAPEP unit in the area and demanded N500. My son, being the financial secretary of the unit, was called from where he was and he had a chat with the soldiers. He told them that he had N1,000 note on him and wanted to get change.
“My son went to get the change but on returning, one of the soldiers, known as Mohammed, said my son was wasting their time and he cocked his rifle and shot my son in the head.”
Victoria, who spoke to our correspondent in tears, said the killer soldier also shot and killed another soldier who confronted him for killing Samuel.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the killer soldier, in a bid to escape, shot into the air sporadically and seized another person’s vehicle.
It was learnt that policemen attached to the Agbado Police Division in Ogun State, as well as policemen attached to the Ijaye Ojokoro Police Division in Lagos State, chased the killer soldier and arrested him around the Abule Egba end of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.
It was learnt that the matter was under investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, Lagos.
The victim’s mother told PUNCH Metro that anything other than justice would not be accepted.
She said, “Samuel was my first child and I struggled to raise him up. Now that I am in my old age, I will bury my son. This is tragic and I will not accept any cover up. I learnt that soldiers have been going to the SCID in an attempt to take over Mohammed’s case. Let him remain in police custody.
“If nothing is done, I will take my son’s body and hand it over to the Nigerian Army. They have stolen my joy. My son was innocent; he was not a trouble maker. From what I was told, soldiers go there every day to extort N500 from every tricycle unit in the area. This is wrong; soldiers have no business with civilians. I blame the Lagos State Government for this.”
The victim’s wife, Rukiyat, told PUNCH Metro that she had four children for Samuel and wondered how they would survive without him.
She said they had been married for 17 years and described her husband as a responsible man and father.
She said, “Our oldest child is 14-years-old while our youngest is five. I am a housewife. Samuel wanted me to concentrate on raising the children so he did not allow me to work. He was loving and caring.
“An hour before he was killed, he called to say he was coming home soon and that he would buy food for us to eat together. We were married for 17 years and he was wonderful all through. I do not know who will provide for us now that he is no more.
“Ever since the incident occurred, no government official or military officer has come to commiserate with the family.”
Meanwhile, PUNCH Metro investigations revealed that the military authorities were making efforts to have Mohammed in their custody.
It was learnt that due to a new relationship between the police and the army, the two agencies had decided not to air each other’s dirty laundry.
PUNCH Metro had reported last week that the Ogun State Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, had refused to disclose the name of the killer soldier.
