1 killed as DSS fires shot during dispute in Abuja

A stray bullet by an operative of the Department of State Services (DSS), identified as Ajayi Abayomi, killed one Musa Adamu and injured two others in Abuja.

The incident was said to have happened on January 19 at Karmajiji village in the Abuja Municipal Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) during an altercation between the DSS operative and a pickup driver whom the former had reportedly accused of obstructing traffic.

Witnesses told our reporter yesterday that trouble started when the pickup vehicle suddenly broke down at the junction leading to Karmajiji village, causing a traffic gridlock.

They alleged that the DSS operative, who was driving a Peugeot 406, was caught in the jam, alighted from his car and slapped the driver.

Muazu Kabiru, a witness, said: “The tension rose when Ibrahim Sarkin Samari rushed to the scene to find out what happened. Before we knew it, the DSS operative opened his car, brought out a pistol and pulled the trigger,” Kabiru alleged.

He said the bullet missed Ibrahim and hit Musa Adamu, who was seated in front of a shop a few meters away.

According to the witness, the stray bullet also hit two other residents, identified as Salisu Suleiman and Yakubu Samaila, who were seated near the deceased.

“When the officer fired and missed his target, hitting Malam Musa and two others instead, an angry mob descended on him and vandalised his vehicle.

“Police officers from a nearby outpost mobilised to the scene to douse the tension. The DSS operative escaped, but his vehicle was towed to the police outpost. Musa Adamu was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi, where doctors later confirmed him dead. The two other victims, who sustained abdominal injuries, were treated and discharged,’’ Kabiru said.

Salisu Suleiman, one of the survivors, told our reporter: “I didn’t even go close to the scene. The next thing I heard was a gunshot. Before I realised what was happening, a bullet hit me in the abdomen.”

Another resident, Shuaibu Ishaq, who witnessed the event, alleged that the operative appeared to target Ibrahim Sarkin Samari specifically.

“Ibrahim went to intervene because the officer was not in uniform and was slapping the driver. The officer turned against him, rushed to his car for the pistol and fired,” the witness alleged.

Ishaq stated that the remains of the deceased were yet to be buried.

He noted that the FCT Director of the DSS had taken up the matter and the agency had already paid the hospital bills.

“The DSS FCT has promised to pay Diyya (compensation) to the family. This is why Ibrahim, who was close to the deceased, cannot comment further; the DSS has owned up to the incident and is ready to compensate the family,” Ishaq said.

The late Adamu, a cleric and Arabic teacher who also worked as a property agent, is survived by two wives, Hauwa Mohammed and Rukayyat Abdulkadir and seven children.

When our reporter visited the wives’ separate apartments, neighbours were seen mourn.

A source at the police outpost confirmed the matter had been transferred to the FCT Command.

“The case involving the DSS officer has been transferred. However, the officer remains at large,” the source said.

A source at the palace of the chief of Karmajiji village, said: “The chief was not happy that an officer would shoot three people over a vehicle breakdown. The operative’s car remains at the police outpost.”

Efforts by one of our correspondents to get a reaction from the DSS were unsuccessful yesterday as calls placed to the known number of the agency did not connect.

An email sent to the official mail of the agency was yet to be responded to as of the time of filing this report last night.

But a source at the DSS said the operative defended himself with his rifle to avoid being lynched.

“He fired a shot, but the victims have been discharged,” the source said.

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