Soldier Opens Fire On Children In Borno, Kills 9-Year-Old, Injures Others

A nine-year-old boy in Maiduguri, Borno state, met his untimely death on Wednesday after a soldier identified as Bukar Mustapha Limanti of the Operation Lafiya Dole, shot at him.

According to report, the victim was killed after Limanti opened fire around the palace of the shehu of Borno in Shehuri north local government area (LGA) of the state on Tuesday.

Two other children reportedly sustained gunshot injuries.

A source who witnessed the incident said the private, who was renowned for his reckless shootings in the area, opened fire on the three children resulting in the death of the nine-year-old identified as Abdu Tijjani.

He said the two children who sustained injuries were taken to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unit of the Borno state specialist hospital in Maiduguri for treatment, while the culprit fled the scene.

“The recent incident of reckless shooting may not be unconnected to the murder of the innocent man,” the source said.

“Bukar Mustapha Limanti is the son of the driver of the current chief imam of Borno state and he is serving at Chabbal IDP camp, along Maiduguri-Gubio road.

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“He goes every morning to his duty post but comes back to town at night where he terrorises innocent people during the night with an AK-47.

“Two weeks ago, he shot a dog and a goat at Shehuri. This forced Digima Zubairu, the ward head of Shehuri north, to warn him, but he refused to listen and continued with the reckless shooting unabated.”

An unnamed source at the Maiduguri specialist hospital said the two victims who were badly hit were recovering.

The source added that a similar incident occurred two months ago, when an unidentified soldier shot a deaf man selling kolanuts in the same area.