Police shot teenager dead at checkpoint in Yobe

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THE Yobe State Commissioner of Police, Abdulmalik Sunumani, has confirmed the killing of a 14-year-old boy at a police checkpoint in Damaturu, the state capital.

Sunumani, who described the incident as unfortunate, said the driver of the vehicle was trying to beat a police checkpoint with a smuggled Mercedes Benz car, prompting one of the policemen on duty to open fire on the vehicle, which was carrying the boy and his mother.

Sunumani said the driver picked the woman with her son in Kano on his way from Lagos to Maiduguri, adding that investigation into the matter is still ongoing.

“What happened was an unfortunate incident. From what my men told me, they got information from the last checkpoint that a Mercedes Benz car was coming without any registration number. When the car arrived at the checkpoint, he couldn’t stop and one of my men opened fire at the vehicle and a bullet hit the boy who was rushed to the hospital but later died. We have not concluded investigation but this is how much I can tell you,” he said.

Our correspondent gathered the mother of the deceased was transporting three bags of 50kg of kolanut to Maiduguri for sale.

In Anambra State, the police said a 26-year-old man has been arrested in Ifite, Awka, over alleged attempt to sacrifice his father, two siblings and five of his friends.

The suspect, Chukwuemeka Okafor, who has confessed to committing the crime, said he was talked into the act after he was defrauded of N400,000 by one of his friends, who had promised to take him to Dubai.

Parading the suspect at the police headquarters in Amawbia yesterday, Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Garba Umar, said the suspect’s father had innocently provided the said sum to the suspect without knowing that the money would be used to settle a 'native doctor' to eliminate him.

He said the suspect who had confessed to the crime, was assisting the police with useful information for further investigation, after which he would be charged to court for prosecution.

He listed the items recovered from him to include eight photographs of the victims, including three members of the family and five Facebook friends, as well as cash sum of N100,000. He said that he obtained the sum of N100,000 from his father under the pretense of using it to set up a business for the alleged rituals.

The suspect, Okafor, however, explained that under frustration, he looked for the assistance of one Zaki, who according to him, is very influential in the society “and he told me that he made his money through money ritual.

"He insisted that I must join him after revealing the secret, but warned me not to disclose such secrets to anybody otherwise my life would be terminated.

"I had no option than to join. I produced the pictures of my father, two siblings and five of my friends, all were downloaded and printed from my Facebook page," he said, adding that he regretted the act, and blamed it on the impoverished condition of the family.