The family of Sheikh Goni Aisami Gashua, a prominent Islamic scholar, who was killed allegedly by a soldier while travelling from Kano State to his hometown of Gashua in Yobe State last week, have demanded justice and compensation for his death.
The soldier apparently asked the cleric for a lift. When he stopped at the side of the road to check one of the rear tyres of his car, the soldier allegedly shot him, hid his body in the bush and tried to take his car but was not able to because it was stuck in mud and it would not start. Another soldier, an auto-electrician, came to fetch him and they tried to flee the scene.
The Nigerian Army dismissed the soldiers the following day, on Saturday, August 27.
The slain cleric had two wives and 15 children, three of whom had died.
The dismissed soldiers, both lance corporals, were attached to 241 RECCE Battalion Nguru, near Gashua. They were identified as John Gabriel and Adamu Gideon.
Sa’adu Goni Aisami, Sheikh Goni Aisami Gashua’s third son, told RNI that the family had demanded justice and compensation from the Nigerian government.
“The soldiers were dismissed from the Nigerian Army by a military court martial but they have not been punished. Mere dismissal is not enough. One of these soldiers confessed to killing my father, who had kindly offered him a lift.
“This is why we are demanding justice and compensation from the government. As well as compensation, we want these soldiers to be punished for the crime they committed. Only if they are punished will it deter others who might intend committing such as crime again,” said Sa’adu Goni Aisami.
“Everyone knows the situation in this country. Many times in despicable acts such as that of our father’s killing, the culprits have been dismissed and the case is forgotten. The culprits are set free without ever being punished. We are determined that the killing of our father will not just be dismissed and forgotten. We feel very strongly that merely dismissing the soldiers is not enough. We want justice. The soldiers must be punished and we must be compensated.”
Sa’adu Goni Aisami said everyone, no matter their status in life, no matter if they were soldiers, had to face the law if they committed such heinous crimes.
“That’s all there is to it. May Allah forgive the soul of our beloved father and grant him jannatul Firdous [paradise].”
Sheikh Goni Aisami Gashua was killed allegedly by Gabriel, a soldier he gave a lift to at a checkpoint on Friday, August 19. He was travelling from Kano State to his hometown of Gashua.
The Yobe State Police Command confirmed the arrest of the soldier and his accomplice. In a statement it said: “On 19th August 2022, detectives from Karasuwa Divisional Police Headquarters, in response to a distress call, apprehended N/A13/69/1522 Lance Corporal John Gabriel and N/A13/70/6552 Lance Corporal Adamu Gideon, both attached to 241 RECCE Battalion Nguru.
“One of the assailants [Gabriel], whose intention it was to rob unsuspecting motorists of their vehicles, left the barrack on the date in mufti [wearing ordinary clothes instead of uniform], having concealed his rifle in a camp bed to hide it from the military checkpoint at Nguru at about 22:00 hrs.
“L/CPL John Gabriel requested the Islamic cleric to give him a lift to Jajimaji, to which he obliged. While driving and before reaching Jajimaji town, the assailant asked him to park because there was an unusual noise [coming from] the rear tyre.
“That [was] when the cleric [went to check] the tyre. The suspect [Gabriel] took out his rifle, shot and killed the cleric. He dragged the body and hid it in the bush.”
The Yobe State Police Command said Gabriel allegedly tried to steal the car, but it refused to start even after several attempts. The suspect called his accomplice, Adamu Gideon, a soldier also based at 241 RECCE Battalion Nguru, who was an auto-electrician from Jajimaji, to help him start the car.
However, a passerby, who was on his way to his farm, saw the cleric’s “corpse, a vehicle and some people”. He alerted police from Jajimaji, who raced to the scene. They arrested the suspects, recovered the corpse and retrieved the rifle allegedly used to commit the crime.
The police said the suspects had confessed.
“The investigation is still ongoing. The suspects are in police custody and they will be charged in court when the investigation is complete,” a police officer said.
SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO
