IBADAN, Nigeria — A tragic police shooting on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, has claimed the life of a student en route to sit for the ongoing West African Examinations Council (WAEC) exams in Ibadan, Oyo State, triggering widespread outrage and protests at the state secretariat.
Eyewitnesses report that the incident occurred along the busy Gbagi Market Road, where a police officer opened fire while pursuing a fleeing vehicle.
A stray bullet allegedly struck a schoolboy who was riding on a motorcycle with his twin brother, reportedly on their way to an examination centre.
The boy was immediately rushed to the nearby Welfare Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
The identity of the victim has not been publicly disclosed, but local sources confirmed that he was a secondary school candidate scheduled to write his WAEC exam on the day of the incident.
“This is heartbreaking. He had his ID card and writing materials with him,” said one eyewitness, who described the chaotic scene that followed the shooting.
“His father was the one driving the motorcycle. They were just trying to get to school on time.”
In a spontaneous show of grief and anger, market traders and sympathisers carried the boy’s lifeless body from the scene of the shooting to the Oyo State Secretariat.
There, demonstrators blocked entrances and demanded an audience with Governor Seyi Makinde, insisting on justice and accountability for what they described as a senseless and preventable killing.
Video footage circulating online shows a large crowd gathering at the secretariat, chanting slogans and demanding reforms in police conduct.
Security personnel were later deployed to control the growing number of protesters.
“This could have been anyone’s child,” said one woman in the video, holding a placard that read, “Stop Killing Our Children.”
As of press time, the Oyo State Police Command had yet to release an official statement regarding the shooting.
Calls for comment from police officials and the state government went unanswered.
Human rights advocates and education stakeholders have begun to weigh in, urging a transparent investigation into the circumstances of the shooting and the swift prosecution of any officer found culpable.
“This is not just a tragedy — it’s a damning indictment of our public safety systems,” said a statement from a local civic group.
“We demand a thorough and public inquiry, not another cover-up.”
The Nigerian Police Force has faced increasing criticism for similar incidents in recent years, many of which have gone unpunished.
