OPSH says soldier killed 20-year-old undergraduate by mistake

Bala was killed by an officer after he was cleared of criminal suspicion at the office of the OPSH.

Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), a military task force in Plateau State, says the unfortunate killing of Rinji Bala, a 20-year-old university undergraduate, by one of its officers was a mistake.

Bala, a 300-level student of the University of Jos, was killed at the Headquarters of the Sector 1 of the OPSH along Zaria Road late on Tuesday, May 12, 2020.

According to the media officer of the OPSH, Major Ibrahim Shittu, Bala was killed because an officer on sentry duty thought he was escaping custody even though he had been released lawfully.

Shittu said the student of the Department of History and International Studies was arrested in a group of seven suspected to be armed robbers and cultists operating around Hwolshe community.

"Five out of the seven suspects were cleared and asked to leave the premises.

"Unfortunately as they were leaving, one of the personnel on sentry duty mistook them for escaping suspects, thus opened fire on them, which led to the death of Rinji Bala," Shittu said.

He announced that the officer responsible for the shooting has been arrested and detained, and an investigation has been launched into the unfortunate shooting.

Emmanuel Dung, an eyewitness who was one of the five released on the night of the shooting, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that soldiers at the gate had asked them to run before opening fire on them and killing Bala.

The student's death has been widely condemned on social media with many calling for the punishment of anyone found guilty of the act.