Soldier Stabs Vigilante To Death, Injures Another For Flagging Down His Motorbike
The incident occurred on February 3 when a local vigilante team was on patrol and stopped a speeding motorcycle for a routine check.
A soldier, identified as Chiko Godspower reportedly serving in Kaduna State, has allegedly stabbed two vigilantes, killing one, following a midnight altercation in the Udu Area of Delta State.
The incident occurred on February 3 when a local vigilante team was on patrol and stopped a speeding motorcycle for a routine check.
The bike had two passengers—a civilian and a soldier. The soldier, reportedly angered by the stop, confronted the vigilantes, questioning their authority to stop him.
The leader of the vigilante group, popularly known as Bakassi, told SaharaReporters on Thursday that the argument was intense but was eventually resolved by the community, with both parties exchanging phone numbers before parting ways.
He asserted that just an hour later, another motorcycle was spotted speeding through Oviwian Junction. Unaware that it was the same soldier, the vigilantes again signalled for the rider to slow down using their torchlight.
The soldier reportedly became furious, jumped off the bike, and launched an attack. During the altercation, he pulled out a dagger and stabbed one vigilante in the hand and another in the neck. The victim with the neck injury died on the spot, while the other was rushed to the hospital.
Despite the soldier not being in custody, police have allegedly been harassing a vigilante leader, who was not on duty at the time of the incident, demanding that he present himself in Asaba with the case file.
Authorities have reportedly threatened to treat the complainant as a suspect if their demands are not met.
He said, “On the 3rd of February, my team was on patrol when they saw a bike approaching at high speed. They flashed a torchlight to signal the rider to slow down. There were two people on the bike—one Hausa man and a soldier.
“The soldier immediately began questioning them, asking why they had stopped his bike. The team explained that they didn’t know he was a soldier, which led to a heated argument. However, the issue was eventually settled by the community.
“After resolving the matter, the vigilantes continued their patrol to another location—Oviwian Junction. At the junction, they saw another bike coming at high speed and flashed their torchlight again to signal it to slow down, unaware that it was the same soldier.
“The soldier immediately jumped down and started attacking the vigilantes, saying he had warned them not to flash the torchlight in his face again. During the fight, he pulled out a dagger and stabbed one of the men in the hand and another in the neck.
“The man who was stabbed in the hand is currently in the hospital, while the one stabbed in the neck has died.
“Now, the police are harassing me, insisting that I must go to Asaba with the case file. The person who committed the murder has not been arrested, yet they are summoning me—even though I was not on duty at the time.
“They are also threatening that if I do not go with them, they will treat the complainant as a suspect.
“The soldier’s mother living along Udu Road has since disappeared since the demise of the vigilante.”
The state police spokesman, Bright Edafe, confirmed the incident to SaharaReporters but said the identity of the suspect is not known yet.
“It’s confirmed but the suspect who is suspected to be a military officer for now is not known. However, that particular guy who is being asked to come is because he is one of the main witnesses that we have, in the sense that he is the vigilante commander,” he said.
“They asked him to come so that he can tell us what he knows about the incident, which will help us to investigate. He does not need to be running away now.”
“The case has been transferred to CID (Criminal Investigation Department), but for us to make the progress, we need his statement,” he added.
