There’s been widespread anger and condemnation in Plateau State over the killing of Rinji Peter Bala by a personnel of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) on Tuesday in Jos, the state capital.
OPSH is a multi security task force saddled with the responsibility of maintaining peace in Plateau and some parts of Bauchi and Kaduna states.
Rinji, a 300-level student of the University of Jos, was apprehended alongside some of his friends at 18th Street, behind National Library in Jos, by residents of the area and tortured by the people before being handed over to OPSH.
Our correspondent gathered that residents of the area have been complaining of harassment by hoodlums at night, thereby making them to resolve to apprehend any youth lurking around the area at night.
As a result of the decision, some residents apprehended Rinji and his friends and handed them over to the OPSH. Unfortunately however, the taskforce took them to their base along Zaria Road, where the boys were punished and thereafter asked to run out, and as they were running, a soldier opened fire on them and Rinji was hit.
People were shocked when the news broke, with many asking why the boys should be tortured in the first place when it has not yet been established that they were involved in any criminal act. “Why should they be tortured and eventually shot rather than handing them over to the police for investigation/prosecution”? A resident asked.
Many took to social media to call for justice. Civil society groups, individuals and politicians have condemned the killing and called for justice.
Meanwhile, Rinji’s friend who was also arrested, Emmanuel Gyang, narrated the incident to our correspondent. “Last Tuesday evening, we decided to take fresh air and so went to 18 Street by the bridge. I’m a photographer and sometimes I go there to take pictures. We met some people jogging and exercising there. After a while, some people started approaching our end and flashing their torchlight at us. Then, they started shouting barawo, barawo (thief, thief) and they came and grabbed us and started hitting us with sticks and iron rod.
“We were later handed over to some soldiers, and we were asked to sit on the floor. A Hilux van came and took us to their sector command along Zaria Road where we were beaten mercilessly by the soldiers. The laid us on each other and tied our hands. They kept asking us about snatching phones and engaging in other criminal activities but we said we were innocent.
“After torturing us to their satisfaction, they untied us and asked us to run out of their premises. As we were running out, one of them at the gate opened fire on my friend and he fell down across the road.
“We ran to the filling station at Farin Gada, and one man had sympathy on us and took us into his house. It was from there we made calls before our people, including Rinji’s father, came and saw him lying across the road dead.”
Rinji’s uncle, who escorted the deceased’s father to the scene of the incident that night to pick up the corpse which has been deposited at the Plateau Hospital mortuary, told our correspondent that the burial has been slated for this Sunday, saying the family is still in shock.
In the meantime, OPSH has apologised for mistakenly killing Rinji, saying the incident was unfortunate and regrettable. OPSH made the apology in a statement by its media officer, Major Ibrahim Shittu.
According to the statement, the deceased was mistaken for a suspect attempting to escape from custody on Tuesday.
Major Shittu however said that thorough investigation was ongoing to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident, adding that the Mopol personnel who shot the deceased has been arrested and detained accordingly.
In his reaction, Governor Simon Bako Lalong of Plateau State has called for a thorough investigation into the killing. This was contained in a statement by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Makut Simon Macham.
The governor, who expressed shock and sadness over the killing, also commiserated with the family of the victim and appealed to the citizens of the state to remain calm. He assured that whoever is found wanting in the incident would face the full wrath of the law.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
