3 Nigerian youth shot dead at birthday party

The three were allegedly shot by members of the Special Task Force on Jos Crisis.

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Three youth were shot dead allegedly by security agents on Sunday night at a birthday party around Bukuru Low Cost, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.

Several witnesses said some members of the Special Task Force on Jos Crisis, STF, opened fire on the youth at the party at Joenice Joint, a beer parlour at Nyango Gel, Bukuru Low Cost Area. Apart from the dead, some of the party-goers escaped with injuries.

Nantel Miri, the father of one of the deceased, said his son, Timshak, 20, was shot dead by suspected security agents who stormed the party venue. He said he reported the matter to the Police Divisional Office, DPO, in Bukuru on Monday.

Mr. Miri said the remains of his son and the two other victims were deposited at the mortuary of the Jos University Teaching Hospital, JUTH.

He called for a thorough investigation of the incident so that those who committed the crime would be brought to book.

One of the youth who escaped and asked not to be named for fear of victimisation, said an argument had ensued at the party venue between two youth. It was almost resolved when the owner of the “joint” insisted on inviting the STF patrolling the area, he said.

“When the soldiers came to the venue, they opened fire on us. I was lucky to have escaped,” the youth narrated.

A resident of the area, one Rintim, said the incident caused him a sleepless night as a result of fear. 

He described the incident as “pathetic” and appealed for the appropriate investigations.

Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Abuh Emmanuel, in his office on Monday at the headquarters of the Police Command, denied any knowledge of the incident.

“I have not received an official report from the Divisional Police Officer Bukuru concerning such an incident, but my office would investigate and get to the root of the matter,” he said.

The spokesperson of the STF, Ikedichi Iweha, a captain, did not pick calls to his phone. The owner of the drinking joint could not be found at the time of filing this report.