Soldier Shoots Okada Rider, Kills Nursing Mother, Baby Over N200 Bribe

There was uproar in Babanna, a community in the Borgu Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State when a soldier reportedly shot at a commercial motorcycle rider known as Okada rider.

Naija News learnt that a gunshot on the Okada rider pierced him and killed his passenger, a nursing mother and her baby.

It was reported that the victims were returning home from the Babanna weekly market on Monday evening when the tragic incident happened.

The soldier involved was said to have stopped the Okada rider for a bribe of N200, which they usually collect from motorcycle riders, but the man could not respond positively.

A resident, Saidu Babanna, who shared details of the incident, told newsmen that because the Okada man could not pay the money, an argument ensued between him and the soldier, which led to the shooting.

“One of the soldiers deployed in Babanna to protect lives and property shot three people because of a N200 bribe. When the victims were entering Babanna in the morning, soldiers collected N200 from them at their checking point, and when they were returning from Babanna to Nigangi in Benin Republic, the soldiers demanded another N200 from them, which they couldn’t afford to pay. That led to a soldier opening fire and killing the three people on a motorcycle on the spot,” Daily Trust quoted the source saying.

Another resident who pleaded anonymity told reporters that many soldiers at the Benin Republic border always stopped them and collected N200 from them.

He explained further that when the victims were returning from the Market, the same soldiers stopped them again and demanded N200 money which the Okada man refused to give.

“They started arguing, and the Okada man kicked his motorcycle and zoomed off and a soldier also kicked another motorcycle and followed him until he overtook him. He then fired the gun, and bullets penetrated the stomach of the motorcycle rider and hit the woman he was carrying, killing the woman and the baby instantly,” the eyewitness explained.

Naija News learnt that the soldier involved has been arrested and taken to the 221 Battalion, Kainji, New-Bussa, Borgu LGA, following the district head’s call to military authorities.

According to reports, the woman and her baby died on the spot while the Okada man was responding to treatment in a hospital in the Benin Republic.

Another source told the news platform that it was the arrest of the soldier and the intervention of the district head that saved the situation from degenerating into a fracas between youths and soldiers.

Reacting, the chairman of Borgu LGA of Niger State, Alhaji Suleiman Yarima, told reporters that the woman and her baby died but that the motorcyclist survived and he is receiving treatment at a hospital in Parakou in Benin Republic.

‘’The victims are from the Benin Republic, who came to the market in Babanna to shop. It’s a weekly market. The bodies were taken to the Benin Republic and can’t confirm their burial for now. However, an investigation is ongoing,’’ he said in a text message reportedly sent to Daily Trust on late Tuesday night.

This article was originally published on Naija News