Two passengers in a commercial vehicle have been mistakenly shot dead by soldiers at a check point in Darazo Local Government Area of Bauchi State.
Confirming the incident, locals and security sources in Bauchi said the soldiers killed the two passengers because the driver of the car made a u-turn when he approached the check-point, raising suspicion which made the soldiers to open fire on them.
“The incident was very unfortunate because we don’t know why the driver decided to defy road block orders and tried to run away, but the army authorities are investigating the matter and whoever is found wanting will be punished. It’s very unfortunate,” a security source said.
According to residents of Darazo, when the driver of the vehicle approached the army check point along Potiskum- Yobe-Maiduguri road, he violated the check point orders by refusing to move back like other vehicles, instead he just made a u-turn and abandoned the car and ran into the bush.
“The soldiers became curious, so they opened fire, which resulted in the killing of two passengers,” residents said.
The car and the corpses of the two passengers were moved to Darazo Police station while the case was later transferred to the Bauchi State Criminal Investigation Department.
