A soldier on Monday killed a fuel station attendant in Minna, the Niger State capital, during a scuffle at the petrol station.
An eyewitness, who spoke in Hausa and only gave his name as Abdulkareem, said the soldier was engaged in a scuffle with the fuel station manager which led to both parties slapping each other.
“The soldier and the manager were having a misunderstanding. Though I don’t know who slapped first but they both slapped each other and people started trying to intervene,” Abdulkareem said.
He also said that as a result of the scuffle, one of the station attendants, who was said to be the brother of the manager, brought out a cutlass and stabbed the soldier who in turn shot him.
The eyewitness said, “As people were trying to settle the misunderstanding, one of the attendants, who is the younger brother of the manager, came to support his brother in the fight by bringing out a cutlass and stabbing the soldier”.
He added that the soldier in turn brought out his gun and shot the boy who was then rushed to the hospital.
Another eyewitness said the boy didn’t stab the soldier but brought out his cutlass to threaten him before the soldier pulled out his gun and shot the boy.
He added that the boy did not make it to the hospital as he died before they got to the general hospital.
At the time of filing this report, calls made to the state police Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Wasiu, were neither picked nor returned.
