Opeyemi Olamilekan

KADUNA, Nigeria – Operatives of the Nigerian Army have reportedly killed a young boy while enforcing the 24-hour curfew in the Zaria area of Kaduna state.

Nigerian youths commenced a 10-day nationwide protest against economic hardship in the country on Thursday, 1 August.

But the protest has turned violent, witnessing looting and vandalisation of public and private properties by hoodlums in the northern part of the country.

In a trending video on social media on Tuesday, a boy identified as Ismail was seen lying on the ground.

A military patrol vehicle and some personnel were seen at the location of the incident.

In the video, residents could be heard wailing, saying, “it is not Usman, it is Ismail.”

“They have killed him; they have killed him,” a resident cried.

In the video, a boy wearing a T-shirt stained with blood was seen pacing around the patrol vehicle of the military where the corpse of the boy was kept.

Another man in the video was seen jumping while confronting some military officers.

When contacted, Onyema Nwachukwu, the army spokesperson, told local news outlet, TheCable that he was yet to receive any report on the incident.

“I’ve not received any brief on the alleged incident. I will get back to you as soon as I do,” Nwachukwu said.

On Monday, the Kaduna government imposed a 24-hour curfew in the state capital and Zaria metropolis after reports of violence and alleged hijacking of the protest by suspected hoodlums.

The hoodlums, according to the Kaduna police command, vandalised a bank building and destroyed vehicles parked within the premises of the financial institution.

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