● Ogebe: “He was arrested by the military and made to apologise to the bandits”
International human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe has alleged that a Nigerian soldier deployed to Southern Kaduna was arrested and compelled to apologise to bandits after fatally shooting one of their members during an attack.
Ogebe made the claim in excerpts of an interview posted on his Facebook page, where he cited what he described as examples of injustice and institutional failure in parts of Nigeria. The claims could not be independently verified at press time and neither the Nigerian military nor other authorities had publicly responded as of press time.
● “Made to apologise to the bandits”
According to Ogebe, the soldier encountered bandits approaching a community, engaged them and killed one attacker.
“There was a soldier who was posted to Southern Kaduna, and he saw the bandits approaching. He pulled out his weapon, he fired, he killed one of them,” Ogebe said.
He alleged that instead of commendation, the soldier was detained by military authorities. “He was arrested by the military and made to apologize to the bandits. They said, ‘Sorry, this is a new guy. He doesn’t know the deal. We’ll make it up to you,’” Ogebe alleged.
The lawyer further claimed the soldier was compelled to pay compensation, which he described as blood money, over the death of the alleged bandit. “And he was made to pay blood money to the bandits for killing one of them,” he said.
—Other allegations of systemic failure—
Ogebe also narrated an incident involving a Muslim farmer who allegedly defended himself against a jihadist attacker, overpowered him, seized his firearm and shot him before surrendering the weapon to a local traditional leader.
“The chief took the gun, called the terrorist, and returned the gun to the terrorist,” he claimed.
He referenced the case of Sunday Jackson, whose conviction in connection with the death of a herdsman has attracted national and international attention.
Ogebe also raised concerns over children allegedly removed from a Christian orphanage in Kano, claiming court judgments for their release had yet to be implemented.
Ogebe argued the incidents point to systemic governance challenges and called for reforms in justice and public institutions. “The need to change the government and the way government operates is imperative,” he said.
[Rewritten story sourced from.News Express]
