The Speaker of the House of Representative, Femi Gbajabiamila has confirmed the death of a newspaper vendor shot by one of his security aides on Thursday.
Gbajabiamila who, in a series of tweets on his official handle in the early hours of Friday, narrated how the incident took place, explained that the vendor was hit by a stray bullet meant to disperse a crowd when he went to greet newspaper vendors while leaving the National Assembly.
“A
horrible incident has taken place. This evening as I left the national
assembly, I stopped, as usual, to exchange pleasantries with the
newspaper vendors at the corner,” he explained.
“Many
of them have known me since I first moved to Abuja and it was a
friendly exchange. Unfortunately, after the convoy set out in
continuation of movement, unidentified men obstructed the convoy which
got the attention of security men in the convoy who shot into the air to
disperse them.”
The
Lagos lawmaker narrated that some hours after they got to their
destination, he was informed that someone had the victim simply
identified as Ifeanyi had been hit by a stray bullet.
He
said this was “contrary to an earlier report by men in the convoy that
they applied their security discretion to shoot in the air.
“In
the meantime; the officer who fired the fatal shot has been suspended
from the convoy pending the conclusion of the investigation.”
While sending his condolences to the family of the deceased, the Speaker expressed distraught about the incident.
“For
one of them (vendors) to have been shot by my security detail is
horrific and I cannot begin to imagine the grief and loss Ifeanyi’s
family must feel on this sad day. No family should have to go through
this,” he added.
“I have
caused a report to be made to the local police station and an
investigation has commenced. My value for human life and my respect for
all people – irrespective of social-economic status – is what endeared
me to these vendors and these are the reasons why I stop my convoy quite
often to connect with them".
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