Army apologizes to family of okada rider killed by soldier in Lagos

-Army issues apology to family of man killed by soldier in Lagos state.

-The culprit has been described as working on his own during the incident.

-The affected soldier has now been arrested for murder and standing trial before a military tribunal.

The Nigerian Army has admitted guilt, and apologized to the family of a commercial motorcyclist, Mr Abubakar Alhaji, who was allegedly beaten to death by Sgt. Taiwo Owoeye in Lagos.

The army tendered its apology through its counsel, Bola Oyebanji, at the Presidential Panel investigating alleged human rights abuses by the Armed Forces and also disclosed the guilty soldier has been arrested and detained for murder.

He said, “The Nigerian Army has detained Sgt. Owoeye for murder, we find the matter reprehensible and condemnable.”

“However, this is a single act which showed that the sergeant was on his own.”

“We apologise and sympathise with the family of the deceased.”

The panel, headed by Justice Biobel Goodwill of the Court of Appeal, also commiserated with the brother of the deceased who was present at the hearing.

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Counsel for the National Human Rights Commission, Mr Lucas Koyejo, was also directed by Justice Biobel to ensure follow up with the military trial of Owoeye to guarantee that justice was done and to liaise with the victim’s family.

Testifying before the panel, Alhaji’s brother, Mr Salihu Mojahid, gave details on the series of events leading to his brother’s death.

Mojahid said, “On Feb. 27, my brother called Abubakar Alhaji, a commercial motorcyclist, took a passenger to Maroko Roundabout beside Myhoung Barracks, Yaba, Lagos.

“He parked at the back of a vehicle and unknown to him someone was in the vehicle, the person in the vehicle reversed and bystanders shouted that a commercial motorcyclist is behind him.

“My brother knocked on the car to alert the owner that he parked behind him, the owner of the car came out and he was Sgt. Taiwo Owoeye.

“Owoeye, who was in full military uniform, slapped my brother twice and after he fell down, and he started kicking my brother several times in his stomach while he was on the ground.

“Bystanders tried apologising to him but he refused to listen to them till my brother fell unconscious.

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“When my brother became unconscious, he wanted to leave and the bystanders said ‘do you not see the state of the person you have beaten up?

“Sgt. Owoeye told them ‘let him die, even if he dies, nothing will happen’.

“Fellow commercial motorcyclists and military men took him to a hospital in the barracks, he was vomiting blood till the next day.

“My brother died on Feb. 28 and the Commandant ordered the arrest of Sergeant Owoeye.”

Mojahid revealed his brother’s corpse was not released to the family until four months after the incident.

“Anytime we asked the military for his corpse, they said that they needed to do an autopsy, till now we have not received an autopsy result.”