By Soni Daniel
Attempt by a police officer to separate a fight by two warring groups claiming ownership of an unspecified amount of cash given to them by the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, claimed one life in the state on Saturday.
The police officer was however promptly taken into custody on the orders of the state police commissioner, according to the spokesman for the state police command, Muhammad Sadiq, who also confirmed the incident.
The rowdy scene broke out at the Sultan Bello’s Mosque in Sokoto where the governor had gone to attend a special prayer session for the commemoration of Nigeria’s forthcoming 60th anniversary of Nigeria’s Independence.
The Sokoto police spokesperson, Muhammad Sadiq, identified the deceased as Aminu Abdulrahman, 25 years old, and the trigger-happy policeman as Bello Garba.
Three others were said to have sustained various degrees of injuries during the fracas which broke between two groups that fought over the cash which the governor dropped for them as they hailed him on arrival at the mosque.
According to reports, the sharing of the cash triggered the trouble that led to the man’s death.
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The police statement said the state Commissioner of Police in Sokoto, Ibrahim Kaoje, had ordered the detention and trial of the erring officer, who is said to have been deployed from the Counter-Terrorism Unit Base 18 Gusau in Zamfara State for special protection of the governor.
The police statement said in part, “The commissioner unequivocally cautions that officers and men of the command must deploy all professional acumen at their disposal including psychological capacity in order to enhance the safety of the people of the state and not to resort to using the same against the populace”.
