Outrage as Mother of killed corps member rejects army’s crossfire claim...

The mother of a slain National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Abdulsamad Jamiu, Habiba Abubakar, has recounted the painful events leading to her son’s death, describing a night filled with fear, confusion and eventual heartbreak.

Abubakar, in an interview with The Cable on Monday, said she was away attending a burial ceremony when she received a distressing call from a neighbour in the early hours.

“I travelled on Thursday, hoping to come back on Saturday to meet my son at home. Only for me to receive a call from my next neighbour around 2:30… She said she’s hearing gunshots. Fear gripped me,” she said.

CBI News reports that she explained that efforts to reach her children proved abortive, as one of the phones was switched off while another line was persistently busy.

The grieving mother said her husband initially withheld details about the incident when she finally reached him.

“Initially, he didn’t want to tell me the actual truth. He said, ‘Soldier carried Abdulsamad.’ I said, soldier, Abdulsamad? How, for what?” she recalled.

Abubakar added that her phone was taken from her during the emotional moment, heightening her fears.

“That was when I knew that my son is not alive again,” she said.

Narrating what she was told about the incident, Abubakar alleged that soldiers invaded their residence by scaling the fence before forcing their way inside.

“They shot him through the door. They shot the door two times,” she alleged.

According to her, Abdulsamad was in his room at the time of the shooting.

“Who did he offend? I want to know,” she cried.

The bereaved mother further alleged that soldiers attempted to conceal evidence after the shooting by ordering local vigilantes to clean up the scene.

“They entered my kitchen, took Klin… took bucket and gave the vigilante to mop the blood. What happened? Why would they do that?” she queried.

The Nigerian Army, through the Guards Brigade, had earlier stated that the 24-year-old corps member died during a crossfire when troops responded to an armed robbery incident in the Dei-Dei area of Abuja.

The Brigade’s spokesperson, Lieutenant Olawuyi Odunola, said the incident occurred “in the course of the engagement” with fleeing suspects.

However, the family has rejected the Army’s explanation, describing it as inaccurate and inconsistent with available evidence.

In a statement, they said the bullet trajectory showed the shot was fired from outside through a closed door, “not consistent with a firefight.”

They also claimed that no weapons were recovered and no armed suspects were identified at the scene.

“The soldiers acknowledged that the killing of Abdulsamad Jamiu was a mistake. They admitted that they had killed an innocent person,” the family alleged.

The family has called for an independent investigation, prosecution of those responsible, and a formal apology from the military.

“The Nigerian Military operates under a constitutional mandate to protect Nigerian citizens. On the night of 25th April 2026, that mandate was catastrophically and fatally violated,” the statement read.