Aug. 19, 2019 | Metro Voice News | Douglas Burton & Magnafaith Kimri
Nigerians are recoiling in shock about the killing of three Nigerian cops last week at the hands of Nigerian army. This week U.S. critics of the Nigerian government and human rights advocates in Nigeria are crying foul.
The tragedy began Wednesday Aug. 7, when a squad of five elite policemen entered the town of Ibi in Western Taraba State to arrest Hamisu Bala, who was believed to be a millionaire kidnapper. They arrested their man quickly and packed him into a Toyota Van and started to drive him back to their headquarters in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State in Eastern Nigeria.
On the way, the van was riddled with bullets by the Nigerian army, who claimed last Friday that the van refused to stop at checkpoints, according to Nigerian media accounts. The van overturned, spilling out police and the suspect on the turf.
The kidnapping suspect slipped away into the local forest as did two of the surviving policemen. “It was tragic case of mistaken identity,” according to the Army spokesman. Millions of Nigerians think otherwise, based on cell phone videos by witnesses at the scene of the incident. Nigerian Police spokesman Frank Mba refuted the Army’s claim and demanded that the army produce the kidnapper. Some reports say the suspect was “released” by the army.