A 13-year-old boy, Mubarak Mohammed, has been killed after allegedly pulling the trigger of a loaded Dane gun reportedly left unattended by a hunter in Gamawa Local Government Area of Bauchi State.
The incident occurred on Saturday in Udubo village, where the victim and the hunter, identified as 35-year-old Suleiman Hamza, were said to reside.
The Bauchi State Police Command, in a statement issued on Sunday by its Public Relations Officer, SP Nafiu Habib, said Hamza returned from a hunting expedition at about 4:30pm and left the loaded firearm inside his room before stepping out.
According to the police, Mohammed later entered the room and allegedly pulled the trigger of the gun, causing it to discharge and inflict fatal injuries on him.
Following the incident, detectives from the Gamawa Police Division were deployed to the scene to commence an investigation.
The police said the teenager was rushed to the General Hospital, Gamawa, where a doctor pronounced him dead during a post-mortem examination.
Photographs of the scene were taken before the victim’s remains were released to his relatives for burial in accordance with Islamic rites.
The police said Hamza had been arrested, while preliminary investigation had been completed and the case transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.
The Commissioner of Police, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, expressed sadness over the incident and urged hunters and other firearm owners to exercise extreme caution in handling and storing their weapons.
Aliyu warned that firearms must be securely kept away from children and other unauthorised persons to prevent avoidable deaths.
Meanwhile, the command said its operatives had foiled an armed robbery along the Kajala-Kere Road in the state.
Habib said the incident occurred at about 9:45pm on Saturday when armed hoodlums reportedly blocked the road and attacked four residents of Kere village.
The victims were allegedly dispossessed of two Bajaj motorcycles, two Android phones and a power bank.
According to the PPRO, police officers from the Burra Division, alongside vigilantes, were immediately mobilised after receiving a distress report.
The suspects reportedly abandoned the two motorcycles and fled after sighting the security team.
The motorcycles were recovered, while the police searched the surrounding bushes for the fleeing suspects and the remaining stolen items.
The command assured residents of its commitment to protecting lives and property and appealed to members of the public to provide timely and credible information that could assist security agencies in combating crime.