Naval Officer Killed While Resisting Phone Thief in Kaduna

A Naval officer was fatally stabbed over the weekend in Kaduna while attempting to fix a flat tyre, after being attacked by a phone thief near the pedestrian bridge in Kawo, Kaduna North Local Government Area.

Sources disclosed that the officer was a senior course participant at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, Kaduna State.

According to military sources, the officer had stopped at a bus stop near the bridge while returning to Jaji when the incident occurred.

An eyewitness reported that the officer was confronted by an unidentified assailant who demanded his mobile phone. When the officer refused, the attacker stabbed him in the chest with a locally made knife.

The injured officer was rushed to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. His body has since been deposited at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital mortuary in Kaduna.

A local vigilante, who tried to intervene during the altercation, was also stabbed in the hand. However, the attacker was eventually overpowered by a crowd at the scene and lynched on the spot.

“The thief was overpowered by the people and killed instantly,” a witness said.

Military authorities have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the officer’s death.

The Kaduna State Police Command has yet to issue an official statement regarding the incident.