Stray bullet kills WASSCE student in Oyo

Stray bullet kills WASSCE student in Oyo

A schoolboy was on Tuesday killed by a stray bullet allegedly fired by a policeman, leading to protests in the Alakia–Gbagi area of Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

It was gathered that the victim was heading to the examination centre to sit for the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Ibadan.

The incident happened on Gbagi Market Road in the Egbeda Local Government Area of the state during the rush hour.

This occurred when the boy’s father was alleged to have violated a traffic signal.

In an attempt to evade apprehension, he was said to have been chased by some policemen.

Witnesses said one of the policemen fired at the fleeing vehicle to disable it by targeting its tyres.

The bullet was said to have struck the child, who was in the car with his father, fatally wounding him.

“The officer was trying to stop the vehicle, but he fired and hit the boy instead. It all happened so fast along Gbagi Market Road,” one witness recounted.

The victim was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital but was reportedly confirmed dead on arrival.

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Another witness, a vulcaniser, who pleaded anonymity, said the boy, in his school uniform, was rushed to Welfare Hospital within the area, where he was confirmed dead.

“The aggrieved public, protesting the incident, carried the remains of the deceased to the state Government Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, attempting to see Governor Seyi Makinde,” said the witness.

A mob, miffed by the development, was said to have moved the student’s corpse to the Oyo State Secretariat, where they staged a protest, demanding justice and accountability from the state government.

The source said the protesters were received by the governor’s Executive Assistant on Security, Mr Sunday Odukoya, who assured that the government would take up the matter.

The police command has not issued an official statement regarding the shooting.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Oyo State Police Command’s spokesperson had yet to reply to calls and messages put across to him at the time of filing the report.

Stray bullet kills WASSCE student in Oyo