A security aide attached to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has allegedly shot a newspapers vendor identified as Ifeanyi Okereke and fled the scene.
According to Punch, Okereke was shot in the head by Gbajabiamila’s security aide at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, around 3pm on Thursday, just a few hours after his wife gave birth to a baby that same day.
The vendor was was subsequently rushed to the National Hospital by his brother and some police officers, where he reportedly died of the gunshot wounds.
It was learnt that the shooting incident occured when Okereke and other street vendors flocked around the convoy of the Speaker, who was said to be in the habit of giving out money anytime he passed them.
Speaking with Punch, the Chairman of the Newspapers Vendors Association in FCT, Etim Eteng, said that Okereke died at the hospital shortly after the incident, adding that his wife gave birth to a baby on Thursday morning.
“The speaker called to give vendors money and the security aide just shot him (Okereke) in the head. He was rushed to the National Hospital where he died some hours later,” he said on the telephone.
A vendor, Abdullahi Seid, said the unidentified trigger-happy security aide could not explain why he shot the deceased when confronted by Gbajabiamila.
“The vendors and other hawkers usually run after VIPs and lawmakers whenever they see them. In fact, they can identify the big men by their vehicles. So, the vendors flocked around the speaker’s convoy and he gave them some money but a gunshot just went off.
“The bullet hit Ifeanyi in the head and he fell down. The officer who fired the gun said he wanted to fire in the air,” Seidu said.
The National Hospital spokesman, Dr Tayo Haastrup, who confirmed the death of Okereke, said “he died of gunshot injuries and would be moved from the Trauma Centre to the mortuary shortly.”
When contacted, Gbajabiamila and his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, could not be reached for comments on the incident.
The Federal Capital Territory police spokesperson, ASP Mariam Yusuf, could not confirm whether the incident was reported to the police. See video below;
https://www.instagram.com/p/CHza0EyJdtq/?igshid=11rqo7j6pbnbh
