A truck driver conveying potatoes from Zaria to Kaduna must have thought he was safe doing his honest work when he was stopped by soldiers at a roadblock.

Abdul Saminu was allegedly shot by an angry soldier for refusing to part with N200. The driver initially refused, but later gave one of the soldiers N100. Unhappy with the cut, one of the soldiers pulled the trigger and shot the driver.

The driver was rushed to the hospital. However, the trigger-happy soldier took to his heels, believing that the man had died.

Other truck drivers waiting in tow, upon witnessing the incident, used their vehicles to block both sides of the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway to protest against the shooting of their colleague.

Although the driver did not die, the Kaduna state governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, visited the scene of the incident around 12.30pm to speak with the aggrieved tanker drivers.

He said the era of killing with impunity in the state was gone adding that anybody found in the act would be made to face the full wrath of law.

Meanwhile, in a statement by the governor’s spokesman, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, el-Rufai also warned against any form of attack by persons or groups in the state.

The statement read in part, “We are calling on the people of Kaduna State not to commit murder or attack anybody in the state. All citizens in Kaduna state have the right to live in peace.

“Henceforth, the new administration will not allow killing of another fellow human being under any guise with impunity.”

[h/t Punch]

Ada Igboanugo