A human rights lawyer, Tope Akinyode, is set to drag the Nigerian Army to court on behalf of Emmanuel Madubuezi, a polytechnic student in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, who was shot by personnel of the Nigerian Army.
On September 14, 2017, stray bullets from operatives of the Nigerian Army hit the student, Madubuezi, who sat in a commercial tricycle on his way to school at the time.
The bullet pierced through the body of the student and hit an elderly woman sitting next to him, who was thrown out of the tricycle due to the impact of the bullet.
The young man’s leg was subsequently amputated at the Holy Trinity Hospital, Port Harcourt, on September 25, 2017.
SaharaReporters gathered that the Army did not foot the medical treatment of Madubuezi or offer compensation of any kind.
When the victim wrote the Army to demand N150m as compensation, the army authorities vowed not to pay him any money.
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In the response letter of the Nigerian Army obtained by SaharaReporters, the military arm admitted that its operatives indeed shot Madubuezi, describing the conduct as “highly unprofessional”.
Despite that, the Nigerian Army said that the operatives acted on “frolic of their own”, claiming that since their action was a criminal offence, the erring officers would be charged to court and punished accordingly.
However, the army said no compensation would go to the victim as it will not take liability for the actions of the erring operatives.
Akinyode, who is the National President of Revolutionary Lawyers’ Forum, said Madubuezi and his mother have contacted him to take up the case.
He said, “We’ll ask the court to compel the Nigerian Army to pay N1bn compensation.
“The lawsuit will be filed this week.”
