An unidentified soldier on Monday, June 15, 2016 shot a truck driver, Abdul Saminu, who was transporting potatoes from Zaria to Kaduna for allegedly refusing to give him (the soldier) a N200 bribe in Kaduna State.
What ensued after this callous shooting was hours of heavy traffic at Tudun Wada Dankande as other truck drivers plying the route proceeded to block off the Zaria/Kaduna Expressway in protest over the maltreatment of their colleague.
The incident which occurred at about midnight, according to eyewitnesses, started because of the said truck driver’s refusal to give the military personal a sum of N200 at the military check point. PUNCH Metro reports that the driver who had initially refused to give the soldiers any money, later conceded to give the soldiers the sum of N100 but the soldier wouldn’t collect the money and it was at this point that the now angry soldier pulled the trigger and shot at the driver.
The driver slumped on the spot and was unconscious, at this point the very angry soldier took to his heels for his life believing that the driver was dead. The driver was said to have been taken to St.Gerard Catholic Hospital, Kakuri, Kaduna South, where they were able to save his life.
The State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, was said to have visited the scene of the incident at about 12:30pm in an attempt to pacify the truck drivers. In addressing them, he said that the era of mindless killing in the state was gone as it would no longer be condoned and that anybody caught would be made to face the law irrespective of position.
A statement by the governor’s spokesman, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, the governor warned that any form of attack by person or group would not be tolerated in the state.
It said; “We are calling on the people of Kaduna State not to commit murder or attack anybody in the state. All citizens in Kaduna State have the right to live in peace.
“Henceforth, the new administration will not allow killing of another fellow human being under any guise with impunity.”
There have been no response from the military just yet but the Kaduna State Police Command Public relations Officer, Zubairu Abubakar, reveled that they had contacted the truck drivers union through their leaders so as to seek a peaceful resolution for the matter.
