One person has died after being shot by a police stray bullet in the Jos Area of Plateau State.
The incident took place on Monday when police personnel from the ‘C’ Division operational area of the Plateau State Police Command were on a routine check at the busy Ahmadu Bello Way in the Terminus Area of the capital.
They confiscated some commercial motorcycles for illegal operation within the metropolis to enforce a ban on “Okadas”. But the security personnel met resistance from the operators which led to pandemonium in the area.
The death of the teenager led to protests from aggrieved youths who demanded the arrest and prosecution of the personnel involved in the incident.
But a reinforcement of security personnel brought normalcy to the area and relief to traders and shop owners alike.
Meanwhile, the Plateau State Commissioner of Police, Bartholomew Onyeka, in a press release on Monday condemned the killing of the 17-year-old.
CP Onyeka described the incident as a paradox, asserting that police officers are empowered by law to bear firearms to save the citizenry and not kill them.
In order to ensure that the erring patrol officers do not evade justice, the police commissioner ordered the arrest of the five officers who made up the patrol team. They are being investigated at the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department, Jos.
He assured the family and friends of the deceased and Plateau residents that the incidents would be thoroughly investigated and those found guilty will face justice.