'It was a Mistake' – Family Alleges Soldiers Shot NYSC Member Dead
Last update: April 29, 2026
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Family accuses soldiers of killing corps member in Abuja bedroom...
The family of a 24-year-old civil engineer, Abdulsamad Jamiu, has accused soldiers attached to the Presidential Brigade of Guards of shooting him dead inside his bedroom in the Kubwa area of Abuja.
CBI News reports that the incident reportedly occurred in the early hours of Saturday, April 26, 2026, during what the military described as a response to a robbery alert.
However, the family insisted that there was no robbery or exchange of gunfire in the area.
Jamiu, a National Youth Service Corps member expected to complete his service in May, was said to have graduated with a second-class upper degree in civil engineering from the Federal University of Technology, Minna.
His foster father, Engr. Momoh Sani Jimoh, said he was in Okene, Kogi State, for his mother’s burial when he received a distress call from his daughter.
“At 2:04 a.m., my daughter called me. She said, ‘Daddy, daddy, the worst has happened.’ I said what happened? She said they have killed Samad. That was what she said, and the phone went off,” he told Vanguard.
Jimoh said he immediately abandoned the burial rites and returned to Abuja.
He alleged that the soldiers gained access to the compound by breaching the fence after finding the gate locked.
“Our barbed wire was never like that. Who passed through there? The military. That was where they entered, because the gate was locked,” he said.
He added that there was no report of gunfire in the neighbourhood.
“The only gunshot that the vigilance team confirmed they heard was the only gunshot in my house. There was nothing of such in the area, not even close to me, not even in the entire community,” he said.
The deceased’s sister, Farida Jimoh, said she was woken by a gunshot and encountered three armed men in military uniform inside the house.
“They quickly flashed their flashlight in my eye,” she said.
“I asked who is here. They said I should calm down, my attention is needed.”
She alleged that the soldiers led her outside and showed her a section of the fence where the barbed wire had been bent, claiming they were pursuing a suspect.
Farida said she later discovered her brother lying lifeless in his room.
“I ran outside and started screaming out of fear and shock. One of the soldiers said I should shut up. He said why am I shouting, it’s very early, do I want the neighbours to wake up,” she said.
She further alleged that the soldiers seized her phone when she attempted to call their father.
“He said I should not call anybody. I was still begging them, pleading with them, my dad has travelled, let me call him, before they gave me back my phone,” she added.
Jimoh said he later spoke with one of the soldiers, who allegedly admitted that the shooting was a mistake.
“He said, ‘Oga, don’t worry, it was a mistake. It has happened. Calm down.’ This is how he put it,” he said.
The family also alleged that soldiers directed members of the local vigilance team to clean the scene after removing the body.
Jimoh said the information came to light after journalists interacted with the vigilantes.
Farida further claimed that the soldiers locked her out of the house, handed the keys to vigilante members, and later summoned additional personnel.
“They came on bikes and stood there. They were snapping of themselves,” she said.
Jimoh disclosed that military delegations had since visited the family, including one led by Colonel S. Buhari, who represented the Chief of Defence Staff.
He said he demanded the withdrawal of a military statement which allegedly described the incident as a crossfire during a robbery operation.
“I told them that post is going around and we want it removed or countered because that does not really represent what happened in this area at all. There was no exchange of gunshots from any robbers,” he said.
According to him, the delegation assured the family that a thorough investigation would be conducted.
“They said they are not going to hide this, that this time around they are going to do things that will serve as a deterrent to others,” he added.
A police statement was reportedly taken from family members and a neighbour.
The Divisional Police Officer in the area was said to have disclosed that the military had contacted officers to evacuate the body to Kubwa hospital before his arrival at the scene.
