By BONIFACE AKARAH

International human rights lawyer, Emmanuel Ogebe, has alleged that a Nigerian soldier deployed to Southern Kaduna was arrested and compelled to apologise to bandits after fatally shooting one of their members during an attack.

Ogebe made the allegation in excerpts of an interview posted on his Facebook page, where he recounted what he described as examples of injustice, insecurity and institutional failures in parts of Nigeria.

According to the lawyer, the soldier encountered armed bandits approaching a community, engaged them and killed one of the attackers.

“There was a soldier who was posted to Southern Kaduna, and he saw the bandits approaching. He pulled out his weapon, he fired, he killed one of them,” Ogebe said.

The rights lawyer claimed that rather than being commended for confronting the attackers, the soldier was detained by military authorities and made to apologise.

“He was arrested by the military and made to apologize to the bandits. They said, ‘Sorry, this is a new guy. He doesn’t know the deal. We’ll make it up to you,’” Ogebe alleged.

He further claimed that the soldier was compelled to pay compensation, which he described as blood money, over the death of the alleged bandit.

“And he was made to pay blood money to the bandits for killing one of them,” Ogebe said.

The lawyer also narrated what he described as a separate incident involving a Muslim farmer who allegedly defended himself against a jihadist attacker.

According to Ogebe, the farmer overpowered the attacker, seized his firearm and shot him before surrendering the weapon to a local traditional leader.

Ogebe alleged that the chief later returned the firearm to the alleged attacker.

“The chief took the gun, called the terrorist, and returned the gun to the terrorist,” he claimed.

The human rights lawyer further referenced the case of Sunday Jackson, whose conviction in connection with the death of a herdsman has attracted national and international attention.

According to Ogebe, the examples he cited reflected broader concerns about justice, security and accountability in the country.

He also raised concerns over children allegedly removed from a Christian orphanage in Kano, claiming that court judgments concerning their release had yet to be fully implemented.

Ogebe argued that the incidents point to systemic governance challenges and called for reforms in the administration of justice and public institutions.

“The need to change the government and the way government operates is imperative,” he said.

The lawyer’s claims could not be independently verified at the time of this report. Neither the Nigerian military nor other authorities mentioned in the allegations had publicly responded to the specific claims as of press time.

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