Habiba Abubakar, mother of the slain National Youth Service Corps member, Abdulsamad Jamiu, has narrated how she received news of her son’s death, describing a traumatic experience marked by confusion and fear.
Jamiu was reportedly killed in the early hours of April 25 at his family residence in Dei-Dei, Abuja.
Speaking in an interview on Monday, Abubakar said she was away with her husband for a burial when a neighbour called to inform her of gunshots in their area.
“I travelled on Thursday, hoping to return on Saturday to meet my son. Around 2:30 a.m., a neighbour called to say she was hearing gunshots. I became very afraid,” she said.
She explained that repeated attempts to reach her children failed, as one line was switched off while another remained unreachable.
According to her, when she eventually spoke with her husband, he initially withheld details of the incident.
“He told me soldiers had taken Abdulsamad for questioning. I kept asking why, but he didn’t give clear answers,” she said.
Abubakar said her suspicion grew when her phone was taken from her during the moment of distress and could not be immediately retrieved.
“That was when I realised something was wrong. By the time I got to Abuja, I discovered that my son was dead,” she added.
Recounting what she later learnt, the grieving mother alleged that soldiers entered the compound by scaling the fence and proceeded directly to her son’s room.
“They shot him through the door. They fired at the door twice,” she claimed.
She further alleged that after the shooting, soldiers directed local vigilantes to clean the scene using items taken from her kitchen.
“They took cleaning materials and asked vigilantes to mop the blood. I keep asking why that was done,” she said.
Jamiu, 24, was said to have been inside his room at the time of the incident, while other family members were elsewhere in the house.
The Nigerian Army had earlier stated that the corps member died after being caught in a crossfire when troops responded to a distress call over an armed robbery.
The spokesperson of the Guards Brigade, Olawuyi Odunola, said soldiers came under fire from fleeing suspects and that the fatality occurred during the exchange.
However, the family has rejected the military’s account, describing it as misleading.
In a statement, the family argued that the trajectory of the bullet suggested it was fired from outside the room through a closed door, which they said contradicts the claim of crossfire.
They also stated that no weapons were recovered at the scene and that witnesses reported hearing only a single gunshot.
The family further alleged that some soldiers admitted at the scene, in the presence of a Divisional Police Officer, that the shooting was a mistake.
They have called for an independent investigation, the prosecution of those involved, a retraction of the military’s statement, and a public apology.
“The Nigerian military has a duty to protect citizens. That responsibility was fatally breached,” the family said.
