Fintiri orders probe into torture, death of 17-year-old

The Adamawa State governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, on Saturday, ordered a probe into the alleged murder of a 17-year-old schoolboy by a military-led joint security task force, Operation Farauta, in Yola.

Abdullahi Tukur Abba, a senior secondary school student, died on Wednesday at the Intensive Care Unit of the Moddibo Adama Teaching Hospital Yola from injuries he sustained from torture, following a neighbour’s complaint about a missing phone.

A press release signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Humwashi Wonosikou, indicated that Fintiri had directed the Commissioner of Police in the state to open an investigation into the matter to prosecute those found wanting.

The deceased’s family lawyer, Dr Abubakar Hamman Diram, told Daily Trust on Sunday that personnel of Operation Farauta had arrested Abdallah on August 5 and beat him until he became unconscious after another boy, who confessed to stealing the phone, claimed that he handed it over to the deceased, an allegation Abdullahi denied.

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Also contacted by our correspondent, the deceased’s father, Dr Tukur Abba, said a case had been instituted against the complainant and those who tortured his son to death.

Operation Farauta which is led by the military is composed of soldiers, police, operatives of the Directorate of State Security (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

The operation set up by the government to fight armed robbery, kidnapping and related crimes came under criticism from residents for alleged human rights abuses and for derailing from its mandate.