Soldiers Stray Bullet Hits Nine-year-old Girl

Soldiers Stray Bullet Hits Nine-year-old Girl

The residents of Yola, the Adamawa State capital, yesterday lamented the indiscriminate shooting by soldiers, resulting in a stray bullet hitting a nine-year-old girl.
The development led to a serious pandemonium as residents scamper for their lives at the time they were supposed tobe celebrating Nigerian 54th independence anniversary.
One of the residents who identified himself as Mallam Audu Solo, said he witnessed when the soldier shot bullets into the air while they were driving in a Toyota Hilux van through the state capital.
He said the action of soldiers led to a stray bullet hitting a nine-year-old girl, Maryam Mohammed, who was receiving lesson among other pupils at a Quranic school in Shinco ward.
Solo said after the soldiers left, residents closed to the school over the development which resulted to a pandemonium as people were running thinking that the insurgents had sneaked into Yola.
When our source visited Maryam’s residence after she was discharged from the hospital, her elder brother, Ibrahim, who narrated the incident, said the soldiers who were moving along the Yola-Gombi road around 9 a.m., were shooting into the air, chanting war songs as usual when a bullet hit Maryam on her left leg.
He said on hearing the unfortunate news, he had to rush Maryam to the hospital for treatment.
“I rushed her to the Specialist Hospital where it was confirmed that the bullet passed through her thigh,” Ibrahim said.
Ibrahim said Maryam’s wound had been dressed and she was now at home responding to treatment.
“We have forwarded our complain to the ward head, Mallam Aminu, who personally came to see her condition and promised to forward the matter to the authorities,” Ibrahim said.
Maryam’s incident was the second of such indiscriminate shooting by the soldiers which resulted in the harm of innocent people.
Recently, such shooting in front of the Federal College of Education, Yola, resulted in about 20 students sustaining injuries as they scampered for safety, thinking it was an attack by insurgents on the school.
“This type of behaviour is unfortunate. I was around Police roundabout this morning when the soldiers were passing in convoy and they fired about 50 shots into the air.
“That place is the middle of the town and shooting bullets just like that into the air can never be acceptable and when people are supposed to be celebrating the Independence today,” he said.
Another resident, Aliyu, who cited the case of a woman that lost her pregnancy due to one of such shooting spree by the soldiers said the development was most unfortunate, adding that insurgency had made the atmosphere tensed up and any little disturbance could throw the city into turbulent state.
“It is very unfortunate. Why waste bullets at the wrong place? This is no bravery or gallantry and must stop if they want our respect,” Aliyu said.