A security aide attached to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, was said to have shot a newspapers vendor, Ifeanyi Chukwu, in Abuja on Thursday.
It was learnt that the incident happened around 3pm at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja.
It was also learnt that Chukwu, who was shot in the head, was rushed to the National Hospital, Abuja, where he later died.
The chairman of the Abuja chapter of the Newspaper Distributors Association of Nigeria, Benjamin Obute, narrated the incident to Daily Trust thus: “What happened was that, at the Federal Secretariat where our vendors sell their papers, you know that place is the heart of Abuja, especially the rep members and senators, that is their route, and traffic lights used to stop them for about two minutes.
“So, while they were hailing them, they used to pack some money and give them. It has been the tradition for years now. Gbajabiamila knows this late Ifeanyi Chukwu one on one.
“While he (the speaker) was waiting for the traffic light to turn green, he handed over N9,000 to his aide in the front seat and handed over the money to them before one of the security details shot him (Chukwu) in the head and shot into the air.
“The speaker stopped and asked what happened, but the police told him nothing and they moved on. The DPO at the Federal Secretariat was one of the persons that arranged how we took late Ifeanyi to the National Hospital where he was confirmed dead.”
Obute said his members would protest today and march to the Force Headquarters to demand justice for their late colleague.
A doctor at the hospital said: “A vendor was shot in the head by a security operative this afternoon. He died after all resuscitative measures at the National Hospital failed.”
When contacted for a reaction, the Special Adviser to the Speaker on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, promised to get back to Daily Trust, but did not do so as of the time of filing this report (11.20pm).
Leave a Reply