Circumstances leading to the death of an officer of the Nigerian Navy, Lieutenant Commander M. Buba in Kaduna has been provided.
Buba was said to have been stabbed to death by suspected phone snatchers near the Kawo Flyover Bridge in Kaduna while attempting to fix a flat tyre on his vehicle.
Buba, who was currently attending a course as a student at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, was returning to base when the incident occurred around 4:30am on Saturday according to military and eyewitness sources.
Witnesses said the officer had stopped by the roadside to fix the deflated tyre when an unidentified assailant approached and demanded his mobile phone.
When he resisted, the attacker stabbed him in the chest with a sharp object believed to be a locally made knife.
The officer was rushed to Manaal Hospital but was confirmed dead on arrival. His remains were later deposited at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital mortuary.
It was also reported that a local vigilante, Suleiman Dahiru, who attempted to intervene during the altercation, was also stabbed in the hand.
However, passersby reportedly overpowered the assailant and lynched him on the spot.
The Kaduna Police Command was yet to issue a statement as of the time of filing this report.
A spokesman for the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Lt. Col. Umar Adamu, confirmed the incident, saying an investigation was ongoing to ascertain the full circumstances surrounding the attack.
The killing has sparked concerns over the resurgence of urban gangsters know as ‘Sara Suka’, particularly around the Kawo axis, which has seen repeated reports of robberies and attacks in recent months.
While official confirmation is still awaited, an alleged internal communication purportedly from 1 Division of the Nigerian Army has surfaced, detailing how the officer, Lt. Cdr. M. Buba, was attacked by an assailant near the Kawo Flyover while attempting to fix a flat tyre.
The memo, which was unsigned and unverified as at press time, claimed that the attacker stabbed the officer in the chest after demanding his phone, and was later lynched by bystanders.
