Stray bullet kills WAEC candidate in Ibadan
By Jeffrey Agbo
A student on his way to write the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) exam has been fatally hit by a stray bullet from a police officer in Ibadan.
The shooting took place on Tuesday morning along Gbagi Market Road during a high-speed police pursuit of a vehicle suspected to be occupied by internet fraudsters, commonly referred to as “Yahoo Boys.”
In the course of the chase, one of the bullets fired by the officer missed its intended target and struck the student, who was riding on a motorcycle with his twin brother.
The victim was rushed to Welfare Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
In the wake of the incident, market traders and sympathisers staged a protest, taking the boy’s body to the Oyo State Secretariat to demand justice. The demonstration prompted the deployment of security personnel to the secretariat entrance in an effort to manage the growing crowd.
Protesters called for justice, accountability and urgent reforms in police engagement protocols to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
As of the time of this report, neither the Oyo State Police Command nor the state government has released an official statement regarding the incident.
