The Nigerian Army on
Tuesday apologised to the family of Abubakar Alhaji, a commercial motorcyclist
who was beaten to death by a sergeant, Taiwo Owoeye, a soldier in Lagos.
It was reported how
the victim’s brother who witnessed the incident narrated it to the presidential
panel investigating rights abuses by the military.
“The Nigerian Army has
detained Sgt. Owoeye for murder, we find the matter reprehensible and condemnable,”
the Nigerian Army’s counsel, Bola Oyebanji, said on Tuesday.
“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,” Mr. Oyebanji said as reported by
the News Agency of Nigeria.
The panel, currently
sitting in the South-west, is to sit in the six geo-political zones and the
Federal Capital Territory from September 11 to November 3.
The head of the panel,
Justice Biobel Goodwill also, giving his condolences, told the brother of the
deceased “apologies to you and your family for the death of your brother”.
Mr. Goodwill after
tendering the apology, told Lucas Koyejo, a counsel from the National Human
Rights Commission to follow up with the military trial of Mr. Owoeye to ensure
that justice is done and to liaise with the victim’s family.
Earlier, Mr. Alhaji’s
brother, Salihu Mojahid, in his testimony before the panel, shed light on the
series of events leading to his brother’s death.
- Premium Times
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