Policeman shoots immigration officer in Niger

Assistant Superintendent of Immigration (ASI), Christian Oladimeji, sustained a gunshot wound in Minna, Niger State.

The immigration officer was shoot after a police patrol team was attacked by hoodlums while recovering suspected stolen materials.

According to a counter-insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, reports that the incident occurred around 12:30pm on Friday, after suspected hoodlums attacked a police patrol team recovering stolen materials.

Makama quoted intelligence sources as saying a surveillance patrol team from the ‘A’ division police command in Minna, led by Ibrahim Paiko, was on routine patrol near Obasanjo complex when they encountered a group of road construction workers carrying iron rods suspected to have been stolen.

“Upon noticing the police, the workers abandoned the materials and fled. While the officers were attempting to recover the abandoned iron rods, they were suddenly attacked by a group of other road construction workers and hoodlums, who threw stones and other objects at them,” the report said.

“The assault damaged the Dangote Patrol Vehicle used by the police. In an attempt to escape being overrun by the mob, ASP Ibrahim Audu fired a shot, which accidentally struck ASI Christian Oladimeji, who was passing by on a motorcycle.

“The bullet hit Oladimeji on her lap, causing her to fall from the motorcycle and sustain additional injuries. She was immediately rushed to IBB Specialist Hospital in Minna, where medical personnel confirmed that while no bullet fragments remained in her body, she suffered a fracture in her waist.

“Several suspects have been detained for questioning, while disciplinary action has been initiated against the officers involved.”

Meanwhile, authorities have urged residents to remain calm as security agencies continue efforts to maintain law and order in the state.