As the Nigerian military personnel of the troops from the Operation Hadin Kai deny involvement in the death of a civilian ‘suspect’, Abdulrahman Mustapha, popularly known as “Abchin” in Maiduguri, Borno State, the District Head of Molaikura has also absolved the military, while clarifying the circumstances that led to the incident.
Arewa PUNCH recalls that on March 24, Amnesty International had raised the alarm over what it described as the “unlawful killing” of the victim on March 22, 2026, in the Polo area of Maiduguri, while calling on authorities to ensure that all suspected soldiers involved are brought to justice in a prompt and fair trial.
However, following the statement, the Nigerian Army, while confirming the incident, noted that its preliminary investigations suggested that the incident, which reportedly occurred at about 11:40 p.m., may not be straightforward and could have underlying security implications
The Media Information Officer, Northeast Joint Task Force Operation Hadin Kai, Lt Col Sani Uba, added that initial findings indicated the possibility that troops may have encountered individuals consistent with a Boko Haram/ISWAP reconnaissance element or a sleeper cell operating within the area where the incident occurred.
Uba said, “The assessment is based on several factors, including reports that the individual in question allegedly attempted to snatch a soldier’s rifle, an action indicative of hostile intent and a direct threat to troops’ safety.
“These preliminary details remain subject to verification and should not be construed as definitive conclusions.
“The ongoing investigations will seek to clarify all aspects of the incident, including the sequence of events, the actions of all parties involved, and any relevant operational context,” he stressed.
However, in a bid to get a clearer picture of the situation, our correspondent followed up on the incident and gathered from both eyewitness accounts and the Wakili of Lawan of Molaikura via an exclusive interview that the deceased was shot outside the community by the soldiers, and he died on his way to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
In the exclusive interview with Arewa PUNCH, the Wakili of Lawan (Assistant District Head) of Molaikura, the district where the incident occurred, Modu Umara, further clarified that there were reports which suggested that the victim struggled to disarm some soldiers escorting him to a Captain’s office for further investigations when the guns went off.
Umara also explained that the victim had initially said he visited the area in search of a road leading to Gamboru before residents held him down for the military’s arrest due to the suspicion of his behaviour.
The District Head narrated, “Abdulrahman Mustapha drove into Molaikura through a road from Mamanti with a Vibe car product. I am not too sure. When he came, he met a boy and asked for directions to Gamboru. The boy said he didn’t know the place.
“The deceased thus pleaded with the boy to enter his car and help him locate the nearby tiled road, but the boy told him he couldn’t follow a stranger in his car. He kept on persuading him, but the boy refused.
At a point, people began to gather because they were becoming suspicious of him.”
Our correspondent further reports that s the situation soon became tense and rowdy, following which it attracted the larger community members and the intervention of the community’s leaders, who were said to have been contacted by the military to help contain the brewing tension.
Umara narrated further, “I left them there because I initially intended to go and see my wife. So, immediately, I drove out of the place, and I got a call from a soldier who identified himself as the commander of Tango 2. He said they got information that somebody came to our village alongside two women in a car who have now run away.
“Personally, I was surprised because I didn’t know how the officer got my number. But, I replied to him, ‘yes’, and that, for me, I didn’t see the women with my eyes, but I heard there were two women in the car.
“He now instructed that I should go and tell the Civilian Joint Task Force guys in the community to enter the village and check all the houses for the two women,” he added.
Umara continued, “So, I came back and told them (CJTF) that I got a call from the army, and this is what I was told. I told them to please help me because I need to give back a report. But before they started any check, I told them to go close to Abdulrahman and inform him that I wanted to see him personally. At that time, Abdulrahman was still around because residents were interrogating him, but he had refused to speak with anyone.
“I intended that he should leave his car and trek a bit of distance to where I was, in case there was anything deadly in the car, so that none of us would be affected.
“The truth is, we were scared of him, especially when he went totally mute and stopped talking to anyone. One of the guys went close to him and told him that I wanted to see him. When he came, I started by questioning him in Hausa, but people now told me he understood and spoke Kanuri. Thus, I switched the conversation to Kanuri. I tried to ask him several questions, but he kept mute. He was acting like someone who had taken hard drugs.
“I was suspicious that he was acting under the influence of drugs. I therefore decided to go close and smell him, but to be honest, I did not perceive anything unusual under his breath. So, I can not really say that his decision to start acting weird and keeping silent was driven by drugs because I did not perceive anything of such when I moved closer to him,” Umara recounted.
However, the Assistant District Head affirmed that as a result of the suspicion, he instructed the CJTF members to search the vehicle thoroughly to ascertain whether or not there were drugs or weapons in the vehicle
“They replied that they had already spotted something like drugs near his car seat while I was away. In fact, we later found two ID cards. One has the Niger Republic logo and features, another is the Nigerian National ID card, and there are several ATM cards. But the names on the ATM and his ID cards were different and inconsistent with each other. And then, there were two knives found inside the car.
“So, I began to advise Abdulrahman to please speak with me before the soldiers arrived. I questioned him to know what was wrong with him or if he was experiencing any unusual challenges. I even told him that the issue had gone beyond just the few of us and that the higher authorities were now aware and involved.
“While the discussion was ongoing, the same Army commander called me back again, and I informed him that the (suspect) man was right with me as he was calling and that I had been persuading him, but he had refused to say anything. The commander now said I should leave him and come alongside two or three CJTF members to Tango 3 to meet him. I didn’t even know the place, not until the CJTF guys described it.
“When we got there, he still asked me what was happening, and immediately, I told him all that transpired between me and the suspected man. I also made him know that I wasn’t the first person who encountered Abdulrahman. I pointed out the boy whom he first met because I went with him. So, the boy narrated exactly what he said before to me to him,” Umara stressed.
He highlighted that they were accompanied back by soldiers, including the commander, who later instructed that the suspect (now deceased) be taken into custody.
In Umara’s words, “So, when we all alongside the four soldiers including the commander returned to the village, they told Abdulrahman to remove his clothes, which he did. It was now remaining only a white singlet kind of shirt on him. They now started using sticks to touch his body to see if there was something in it, but they did not see anything.
“After the search, nothing was found. The soldier now instructed the head of CJTF present there to hold Abdulrahman by his trousers while they proceeded to their Army base. The soldiers, CJTF, and the young boy who had the first encounter with Abdulrahman all went to the base with him.”
The Wakili of Lawan further disclosed that following the instruction from the commander, members of the community dispersed before they received a call that the victim had been shot.
“Immediately after the soldiers’ instruction, I left the area. I took my car and drove away because it was already late. It was later, I now called one of the guys to ask what was going on. He said a lot of things were going on because Abdulrahman had refused to talk during interrogation. The boy told me they asked him where he came from, where he was going, and other such questions, but he maintained silence.
“I was also told that a certain Captain called them to bring the suspect to him. While going to pick the machine that will convey them there, the boy told me that Abdulrahman attempted to struggle the gun from one of the soldiers who was escorting him. In the process of struggling the gun, a bullet was shot from that particular gun he was dragging. Another soldier who was holding a gun behind them immediately shot his gun at Abdulrahman’s leg.
“He said when they quickly informed the Army boss of the development, he instructed them to take Abdulrahman to the Teaching Hospital.
According to him, on their way to the hospital, around the Lagos Street area, Abdulrahman died. While this was happening, I was in constant communication with the guys. They were telling me everything.
“In the morning, the next day, the police came and opened the car, where they brought out the drugs and his identity card out of the vehicle,” Umara explained more.
Eyewitnesses also gave a similar account, saying that they only took precautionary measures following the rising cases of insecurity in the state.
“We had no option but to submit him to the authority. The issue of suicide bombing in the state is what made us act fast, especially when his behaviour became suspicious,” an eyewitness who did not want to be identified said.
When contacted for comments on the issue, the Public Relations Officer of the Borno State Police Command, ASP Nahum Daso, declined to comment, noting that the issue is still under investigation.
“The only thing I can tell you for now is that the case is still under investigation,” Daso told Arewa PUNCH.
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